One Hour to Live or Die

If you had an hour to solve a problem that your life depended on, how would you spend that time? 

You might be tempted to channel your inner MacGyver, frantically throwing one idea after another at the problem while operating from a place of scarcity and fear.

Albert Einstein had another approach that’s worth considering. He famously said, "If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask...for once I knew the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than 5 minutes."

Pause and let that sink in. For a situation his life depended on, he would spend the first 55 minutes of the hour coming up with the right question. Because once he had that, the actual problem could be solved in five minutes. 

I’ll give the last word not to Einstein but to Henry Nouwen. He wasn’t a scientist but walked in deep waters as a student of the soul. Here’s his similar observation: "Answers before questions do harm to the soul." 

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