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Comment by davidroberts | Hacker News Reader

I don't think there is any contradiction between being a problem-solver and having a positive outlook on life, as long as you are a competent problem solver and getting a lot of problems solved. Successful problem solving provides both an immediate joy from a "mission accomplished" feeling, and a long term positive outlook that comes with the feeling that because of you, there are less unsolved problems in the world, therefore life is better.

Don`t people become problem-solvers because they enjoy solving problems? And if that is a case, than being presented with a host of unsolved, yet potentially solvable problems should make a problem-solver scream with glee, right?

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I find that people who tackle problems are those who are never quite satisfied. Even after solving a problem, they put it in their rear view and switch to the next problem to solve. There's always more work to be done.

I guess it depends on the depth of your compulsion.

I think you are confusing a problem-solver with a perfectionist. One solves problems because he or she enjoys it. The other because they live in a world that will never match an ideal they hold. The second is doomed to misery no matter what, and I think that is what the OP was saying he moved away from by focusing on the positive.

Or we just have different definitions of what a problem solver is. I define a problem solver as someone who, once taking note of something they identify as a "problem", feels a compulsion to solve said problem. Someone who identifies problems as inherently wrong and solvable. Your definition may be more lax than mine.

Also, I don't think he talked about moving away from perfectionism. He talked about moving away from "how unfair things were, how I deserved more, how other people were causing problems for me, and how I was vastly superior to everyone else." That isn't being a perfectionist, that's being a prat.

The joy of having solved a problem is short in comparison to the unpleasant process of actually solving it.

Ignoring the negative aspects of reality is also not compatible with the mindset of a problem solver.

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