Hello, it’s kind of unconventional for me to start my first post this way, but I am okay with it.
The truth is, I am currently very drained after writing an academic thesis for the past few hours non-stop, and I have run out of ideas. However, this one is something that is easy for me to share and talk about. So here we go!
For those who know me well, hi, how are you? I am guessing it’s been a while since we last communicated. I really do hope that you are doing well wherever you are.
For those who are new, hello, nice to meet you. I am Naadiah, and I am a passionate individual who loves to solve problems, and I do it as quickly as I can.
Reflecting on this topic, I realized that problem-solving has been ingrained in me since I was young. I grew up with both parents working most of the time. My dad was a policeman, and you know how their working schedule can be, right? It’s either a 24-hour duty roster or being stationed out of town for a week, sending criminals to prisons in different states.
Meanwhile, my mom, being the solid foundation for the family, also provided for us and helped support my dad in raising all six of us. She would be the first one to wake up in the wee hours to cook meals for her business (she ran a hawker stall, by the way, those days in Ipoh and Kampar, and she is still famous for her delicious, generously priced food). So, she was hardly at home, but she always made sure we had enough food to eat and never let us go hungry.
Anyway, what does that have to do with me being a problem solver? Well, when you have parents who are not at home most of the time, you tend to need to adapt to solving most of the problems yourself. Back then, we cycled to school. When the bike chain fell out of its place, we fixed it ourselves. When the door at home was locked, I found ways to open the door without fail, EVERY SINGLE TIME.
My rule is simple: understand the problem, figure out what could possibly help me solve the problem, then look around for things that I can use to achieve my ultimate goal. How did I do it quickly, you ask? Well, I guess it has something to do with me feeling fulfilled when I get to do things fast. I mean, I was that kid who hyperventilated when she was late to school. Being punctual and prompt are very important to me.
I also remember a time when I was still very young, I enjoyed solving jigsaw puzzles and puzzle blocks. I remember timing myself and seeing how fast I could solve them. Now that I think about it, it feels kinda funny. I never knew that I have been like that since young. 😆
Even in foundation or matriculation, I solved locked door problems. Here are a few examples:
Example 1:
I accidentally locked my wardrobe and left the key inside it. My main problem was that the key was too far from the top of the wardrobe door for me to reach inside, even if I managed to pull the door loose. So, since it was a bit too far to reach, I needed something long, anything, as long as it is long. I also needed something to hook the key onto so that I could push the key down to the floor in between the loose wardrobe door.
Then I searched around my room and found a skipping rope. Thank God I was fit back then to have that lying around my room. I used that as the long thing I needed and a fork to hook the key onto it. After about 10-15 minutes of trying, I achieved my goal of getting the key out of the wardrobe. Yay!
Example 2:
The Wi-Fi connection was so bad in my previous office and the house I lived in. There were quite a few dead spots, and some floors were just getting poor signals. It was not nice to have an office that provided space for others, yet the Wi-Fi was bad. I just had to find a solution, and that is I needed to make sure we got a better connection for the building.
So I did what I do best: I researched and googled for a solution. It turned out for the office; we needed a better router as we had three floors, and I needed to make sure every floor connected to the new router. For the house, I added a mesh Wi-Fi for dead spots. I went ahead and bought a TP-Link router and also a TP-Link Deco mesh to fix the problem.
I don’t remember which products came through the delivery first, but the easiest way to connect was the Deco mesh. I just reset all the necessary internet login IDs, and the house no longer had a dead spot. I could even monitor who was connected to the Wi-Fi and set time limits for different devices. (This was done in less than an hour.) I still have the step-by-step instructions I keep to set this up in case things go haywire.
The router for the office was a bit intricate. I had to first make sure I had all the necessary passwords from our internet provider, and then I started working my magic. I first changed the main router that was connected to the modem on the 1st floor, and then, once the switch was made, and I had tested the speed and connection, I proceeded with the ground floor. I reset the settings and made sure the connection was to the new router and tested the Wi-Fi. Then, the last one was for the top floor. I repeated the steps for the ground floor, and voilà , the building now had an incredible speed for Wi-Fi that could benefit everybody. And all that took me around 3 hours. I still remember my friend, Belle, accompanying me as I did the work. So, thanks, Belle!
There are so many other examples I have in mind, but I wouldn’t be able to share all of them in just one post. We might just need to have a coffee ☕ catch up for me to spill all of it.
What I can summarize about my passion for problem-solving is that I enjoy solving a problem because I love making complicated stuff easy. I do it fast because the thrill of accomplishing things fast makes me feel a sense of success. Finally, the right mindset for how I approach problem-solving helped when I strongly believe I could solve it.
Well, that’s it about me and problem-solving. Do you have something that you are known to be good at, and it has greatly created an impact in your life?
Please share in the comment section below. I would love to hear your sharing.