Sahil Bloom is an inspirational writer and content creator, captivating millions of people every week through his social insights and bi-weekly newsletter, The Curiosity Chronicle.
Guest Author: Sahil Bloom
This paradox is holding you back from your potential…
Solomon’s Paradox (and how to escape it):
In the Old Testament, King Solomon was known for his incredible wisdom. He was considered one of the wisest men who ever lived.
Unfortunately, the divine ability did not extend to heeding his own counsel.
King Solomon’s personal life was quite a mess:
• Hundreds of wives and partners
• Obsession with money and wealth
• Absent relationship with son and children
In short, King Solomon was great at giving advice, but terrible at taking that same advice into account in his own life.
This story gave a name to a common psychological phenomenon:
When we provide clear, rational perspectives and advice to others, but are unable to provide those same quality perspectives to ourselves, we are falling victim to Solomon’s Paradox.
We’ve all been stuck in Solomon’s Paradox at one point or another.
Why? Well, it’s quite simple, really:
When you’re considering someone else’s problems, you are objective, rational, and balanced.
When you’re considering your own problems, you are emotional, irrational, and volatile.
It’s not your fault—you’re human, after all!
Two core strategies to escape:
Strategy 1: Create Space
Viktor Frankl, the Austrian philosopher and Holocaust survivor renowned for his contributions to existential psychology, has a brilliant framing for the power of space:
“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.”
Pause: Our immediate reactions are almost always emotional, and we make bad decisions in the heat of emotion. Force a pause (whether it’s seconds, minutes, hours, or days) before reacting.
Reset: Allow yourself to feel the emotional response, but remind yourself that you are in control of what comes next. Give yourself that power.
Engage: With a more balanced perspective, engage with the situation.
Strategy 2: Zoom Out
A rule for life: When in doubt, zoom out.
You live your entire life zoomed in. This can create challenges, as struggle feels bigger than it really is and growth feels smaller than it really is.
Forced zoom outs provide perspective, on the true nature of your struggles and the impressive nature of your growth.
Mental Time Travel is a useful tool for zooming out:
• Imagine yourself in the past and consider yourself in the present.
• Imagine yourself in the future and consider yourself in the present.
This zoom out forces perspective that breathes new life into a situation.
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To fight back against Solomon’s Paradox: Create space and force new perspective. The right questions (and answers) will come to you.
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