3. Take Your Time
Tim Hicks, founder of mediation business consultants Connexus, says that people are
born problem-solvers but don't realise it. Our fear of conflict means we rush into
solving problems when it is infinitely better to take our time. By being patient, we are
willing to put the solution at the end of the process rather than at the beginning. It
also means being willing to live with "life unresolved", not always a comfortable thing
to do. Hicks says a problem is like a curve in the road where we can't see the straight
road ahead. Take the bend too fast and you'll come a cropper. Slow down and you'll
make it fine.