On a recent flight from Hong Kong to Shanghai, I was flipping through a newspaper and noticed this headline: “Beijing recruits scientists to wipe out pollution.” The article went on to taut all the great scientific research that China is doing to clear air pollution and the fact that “scientists had yet to find truly effective measures to reduce smog.” While some may have read this article with relief or optimism, I was a bit bothered and disgusted.
This is a perfect example of addressing symptoms and not dealing with the root cause of the problem. Now, I’m not a pollution scientist, but I think I have a solution – stop the factories and automobiles from spewing out pollutants in the first place.
Blog – Cause not Symptoms 2
Unfortunately, this type of behavior is prevalent. Doctors do it when they blindly write prescriptions after asking the patient only a few basic questions. Teachers do it when they help students with rote memorization techniques to score well on standardized exams, as opposed to helping students gain a deep understanding of the content.
When it comes to our personal health we’re all guilty, including myself. Too often we want the quick fix. We come up with a solution that ‘temporarily’ fixes a symptom of a problem we’re facing and we think we’ve solved it. Yet the problem returns. We drink coffee to stay awake, when really we simply need to sleep more the night before. We take pills to stop headaches, when we should just drink more water since the root cause of many common headaches is dehydration. As an Executive Health Coach, I hear many such examples on a regular basis.
So what am I suggesting?
I’m suggesting that if you have a nagging recurring issue with your health (mental, physical or emotional), take time to properly assess the situation. Dig deep to find the root cause of the problem even if it uncovers more pain. Because once you address the root cause – all of the symptoms will go away. Yes all of them!
How do you do that? Three suggestions:
1) Ask Yourself Questions: Assess your situation frequently by asking yourself what you may have done this morning, last night, or last week to have caused the problem? And what are you doing on a regular basis to add fuel to the flame to create the recurring problem?
2) Answer Your Questions Without Bias or Judgment: Only when you are true to yourself will you uncover the deepest problems
3) Take Action: Once you’ve figured out the problem you’ve completed the most difficult task. Now don’t just stand there complaining, do something about it.