Chapter 34
How To Analyse and Solve Worry Problems
Will the magic formula of Willis H.Carrier，described in Part One，Chapter 2，solve all worry problems？No，of course not.Then what is the answer？
The answer is that we must equip ourselves to deal with different kinds of worries by learning the three basic steps of problem analysis.The three steps are：
1.Get the facts.
2.Analyse the facts.
3.Arrive at a decision—and then act on that decision.
Obvious stuff？Yes，Aristotle taught it—and used it.And you and I must use it too if we are going to solve the problems that are harassing us and turning our days and nights into veritable hells.
Let’s take the first rule：Get the facts.Why is it so important to get the facts？Because unless we have the facts we can’t possibly even attempt to solve our problem intelligently.Without the facts，all we can do is stew around in confusion.My idea？No，that was the idea of the late Herbert E.Hawkes，Dean of Columbia College，Columbia University，for twenty-two years.He had helped two hundred thousand students solve their worry problems；and he told me that “confusion is the chief cause of worry”.He put it this way—he said：“Half the worry in the world is caused by people trying to make decisions before they have sufficient knowledge on which to base a decision.For example，”he said，“if I have aproblem which has to be faced at three o’clock next Tuesday，I refuse even to try to make a decision about it until next Tuesday arrives.In the meantime，I concentrate on getting all the facts that bear on the problem.I don’t worry，”he said，“I don’t agonise over my problem.I don’t lose any sleep.I simply concentrate on getting the facts.And by the time Tuesday rolls around，if I’ve got all the facts，the problem usually solves itself！”
I asked Dean Hawkes if this meant he had licked worry entirely.“Yes，”he said，“I think I can honestly say that my live is now almost totally devoid of worry.I have found，”he went on，“that if a man will devote his time to securing facts in an impartial，objective way，his worries usually evaporate in the light of knowledge.”
Let me repeat that：“If a man will devote his time to securing facts in an impartial，objective way，his worries will usually evaporate in the light of knowledge.”
But what do most of us do？If we bother with facts at all—and Thomas Edison said in all seriousness：“There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the labour of thinking”—if we bother with facts at all，we hunt like bird dogs after the facts that bolster up what we already think and ignore all the others！We want only the facts that justify our acts—the facts that fit in conveniently with our wishful thinking and justify our preconceived prejudices！
As Andre Maurois put it：“Everything that is in agreement with our personal desires seems true.Everything that is not puts us into a rage.”
Is it any wonder，then，that we find it so hard to get at the answers to our problems？Wouldn’t we have the same trouble trying to solve a second-grade arithmetic problem，if we wentahead on the assumption that two plus two equals five？Yet there are a lot of people in this world who make life a hell for themselves and others by insisting that two plus two equals five—or maybe five hundred！What can we do about it？We have to keep our emotions out of our thinking；and，as Dean Hawkes put it，we must secure the facts in “an impartial，objective”manner.
That is not an easy task when we are worried.When we are worried，our emotions are riding high.But here are two ideas that I have found helpful when trying to step aside from my problems，in order to see the facts in a clear，objective manner.
1.When trying to get the facts，I pretend that I am collecting this information not for myself，but for some other person.This helps me to take a cold，impartial view of the evidence.This helps me eliminate my emotions.
2.While trying to collect the facts about the problem that is worrying me，I sometimes pretend that I am a lawyer preparing to argue the other side of the issue.In other words，I try to get all the facts against myself—all the facts that are damaging to my wishes，all the facts I don’t like to face.
Then I write down both my side of the case and the other side of the case—and I generally find that the truth lies somewhere in between these two extremities.
Here is the point I am trying to make.Neither you nor I nor Einstein nor the Supreme Court of the United States is brilliant enough to reach an intelligent decision on any problem without first getting the facts.Thomas Edison knew that.At the time of his death，he had two thousand five hundred notebooks filled with facts about the problems he was facing.
So Rule 1for solving our problems is：Get the facts.Let’s do what Dean Hawkes did：let’s not even attempt to solve our problems without first collecting all the facts in an impartial manner.
However，getting all the facts in the world won’t do us any good until we analyse them and interpret them.
I have found from costly experience that it is much easier to analyse the facts after writing them soon.In fact，merely writing the facts on a piece of paper and stating our problem clearly goes a long way toward helping us to reach a sensible decision.As Charles Kettering puts it：“A problem well stated is a problem half solved.”
Let me show you all this as it works out in practice.Since the Chinese say one picture is worth ten thousand words，suppose I show you a picture of how one man put exactly what we are talking about into concrete action.
Let’s take the case of Galen Litchfield—a man I have known for several years；one of the most successful American business men in the Far East.Mr.Litchfield was in China in 1942，when the Japanese invaded Shanghai.And here is his story as he told it to me while a guest in my home：