The solution to every problem: It’s about what you believe

Picture this: It’s the 1840s, and a determined (and very hairy) chap named Elias Howe has a wild idea. He wants to invent a sewing machine—except he’s stuck on one teeny, tiny problem: how to get the needle to work.

Ordinary hand sewing needles have the sharp bit on one end and the thread hole at the other. But Elias, with a mind that wouldn’t quit, realised that this wouldn’t work for a machine.

Despite staring at needles until he went cross-eyed, Elias couldn’t figure out a solution. But, stubborn as a mule, he kept at it, firmly believing that there had to be a solution.

And here’s the thing: when you believe there’s a solution, you’re more likely to find one. That’s the magic of persistence—or sheer bloody-mindedness, depending on your outlook.

But why does this belief in a solution matter so much?

Well, our beliefs shape how we see the world. If you’re convinced there’s no way out of a problem, your brain will dutifully help you find dead-ends, detours, and more reasons to give up. But when you hold the belief that a solution exists, even if it feels far-fetched at times, you remain open to possibilities.

This belief acts like magic glasses that lets you see opportunities where others might only see obstacles.

Take Roger Bannister, for instance

For years, people believed it was physically impossible to run a mile in under four minutes. Sports scientists, coaches, and athletes alike declared it couldn’t be done. But Roger wasn’t having a bar of that.

He believed there was a solution—that breaking the four-minute mile barrier was simply a matter of strategy, training, and mindset. And in 1954, he proved everyone wrong by running the mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds.

The most fascinating part?

Once Bannister broke through that psychological barrier, many other runners did too, almost as if a door had been opened for everyone. The answer, it seemed, wasn’t just physical—it was a matter of belief.

Elias Howe was working through a similar process

He wasn’t just inventing a sewing machine; he was constantly looking for something that would make it all work. He wasn’t going to throw in the towel just because no one else had done it before. And, as it turned out, his solution came to him in a most unexpected way—through a nightmare!

In this terrifying dream, he was captured by angry natives waving spears with holes in their tips. But instead of waking up in a cold sweat, he woke up with a flash of inspiration: the needle for his sewing machine needed a hole at the pointed end, not the other end.

With this odd yet brilliant solution in hand, he finally cracked it

In 1846, Elias was awarded a patent for his sewing machine, and the rest, as they say, is history. Without his belief in finding a solution, I wonder what kind of clothes we’d be wearing today? Maybe we’d still be stitching things together by hand—and looking like this!

Thankfully, Elias believed in a solution, and his perseverance led to one.

So here’s the big question for you:

Would believing there’s a solution to every problem make your problems feel a little more manageable? Think about it. If you believe an answer exists, you’re far more likely to keep searching for it. You’ll stick with it, even when things get tough, because you trust that there’s some way you can resolve it.

You might not dream of spear-wielding natives, but you’ll be more inclined to have that “aha!” moment—that moment when the resolution appears, often in the most unexpected way.

Beliefs shape not just how we approach problems but how long we’re willing to stay in the game. If you believe there isn’t an answer, it’s easy to give up at the first hurdle. “Too hard,” you think, “I’ll never figure it out.”

But history is packed with examples of people who pushed through because they believed a solution was possible. From Roger Bannister to Elias Howe, their belief in a solution is what allowed them to keep going when others would have stopped.

And what about you?

How might your life change if you approached every problem with the belief that a solution exists? It might not be obvious at first. It might require some trial and error (and maybe a few sleepless nights).

But if you hold onto the belief that a solution is out there, your mind will stay open, your perseverance will strengthen, and you’ll be far more likely to find that elusive answer. Even if it comes to you in a dream, wrapped in a bizarre metaphor, like spears with holes in them.

Or, of course, you could believe that some problems are just unsolvable, and give up at the first sign of difficulty. You could throw in the towel before you even get to your “aha!” moment, never realising that the solution was just around the corner, waiting for you to trip over it.

But imagine what you could accomplish—what breakthroughs you might have, and what solutions you could uncover—if you simply believed that, no matter what, there’s always a solution out there somewhere.

Whether it comes to you in a flash of inspiration, a dream, or through good old-fashioned perseverance, it’s worth holding onto that belief, don’t you think?

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Tags: Beliefs and values, Goals, Motivation and taking action, Perception, Problem solving, Resilience