On a rung above the concept of Homo sapiens, the Homo solver is the person who not only has awareness of their problems, but is dedicated to solving them. Homo solver is precisely the title of the new essay I have written with Álex Rovira, after several years, and it is now available in bookshops.
Its subtitle refers to the fifteen challenges that every human being will encounter, sooner or later in life. And the level of fulfilment will depend on how one faces and resolves them.
What is intelligence?
Overcoming obstacles and rising with them is what makes life worth living. Here the expression takes on full meaning, because the effort and suffering required to solve some vital issues are what gives value to our existence.
For years, intellectuals have asked themselves: what is intelligence? Some answer that it is the mastery of one or more abilities, according to the theory of multiple intelligences.
For his part, the Japanese-born physicist Michio Kaku opines that “the essence of intelligence is to foresee the future“, that is, to be a visionary. The authors of Homo solver understand that intelligence is the ability to solve the problems that life puts in our path. When we face a challenge that initially seems insoluble and we find a solution, we are deploying our intelligence.
Problems to be solved
So, what are these problems? We have identified fifteen, which we can organise into five blocks.
1. Personal discovery
You cannot transcend Homo sapiens to become Homo solver without a good knowledge of yourself, since the first challenge a human being faces is understanding who they are and what their priorities are.
Defining who you are or who you want to become will tell you what your mission in life is. There is a very close relationship between purpose and the gifts we are born with. First you recognise what you carry with you, and then you look for the best way to bring it to others.
In this same block would come the wish each individual has for their life. What do you want to achieve? Do you grant yourself permission to achieve it? If not, what or who is holding you back? Your self-esteem and personal fulfilment will depend on how you address these questions.
2. Relationships and personal balance
Once you know who you are and what you want from life, the second block of challenges relates to others. How can I relate to others in a healthy way without sacrificing my priorities? How far should kindness go, without being unkind to myself? Undoubtedly, in this section love deserves a chapter of its own.
We are so influenced by the saccharine Hollywood tropes, or by the passionate stories of romance novels, that we sometimes struggle to understand what a mature bond looks like. As with the rest of relationships, love should flow in balance for both parties.
About that, Marwan sang: ‘Love is the only game in which you have to draw‘. And it isn’t only about love; there must also be harmony between work life and personal life. Even if you really enjoy your job, the challenge is to ensure it does not consume the rest of your life. As the ancient teachers said, it’s about finding the middle ground.
3. Personal management
In the era of multitasking and constant stimuli, time management has become a paramount issue. Most people feel that there is not enough time in the day, and the cause of this exhaustion—the sense of being overwhelmed—stems from juggling commitments.
Perhaps due to excessive optimism about the calendar, we tend to pack more into it than fits. And this temporal chaos does not spare even the younger generation. As psychiatrist Marian Rojas notes, ‘the problem with children today is that they have ministerial-style agendas’.
Saber renunciar a lo no imprescindible, reservando tiempo para lo importante –aunque no sea urgente–, permite recuperar el control, además de liberar espacio mental para resolver nuevos problemas y seguir aprendiendo.
4. Resilience and acceptance
Not everything life throws at us is to our liking. In our personal journey we must accept and handle situations that do not unfold as we would wish. They will require us to show temperance, a virtue highly valued by the Stoics, to whom we devote a chapter in Homo solver.
One of the keys of this school of thought is learning to distinguish what depends on you from what is outside your control. You should deal with the former in the best possible way. With the latter, you should not waste time or energy.
Para todo ello es necesario tener lucidez de mente y coraje, ya que la incertidumbre y los cambios de la vida nos obligan a enfrentarnos a nuestros miedos. Cada uno es una puerta hacia nuevos descubrimientos de lo que podemos ser y hacer. ‘The fear is the means’, decía el editor Juli Peradejordi, y nosotros añadimos: ‘Tell me what you fear and I’ll tell you what you can achieve’.
5. Wisdom and transcendence
As we solve the problems life throws in our path, we learn to keep a level head in this ever-changing world.
We acquire the gift of serenity, which is a wisdom of the soul. The onslaughts of fate can no longer destabilise you, because you have understood that existence is a rollercoaster in which the ups and downs are part of the journey.
It is about enjoying the journey. The lessons learned will also enable you to guide other, less experienced travellers. More and more detached from success and material possessions, you are now able to live with ease and humour in the face of setbacks.
You need a spirit of maturity and gratitude to bid farewell to loved ones, as well as to lay the groundwork for the legacy you want to leave in the world. How would you like to be remembered? What would you like to outlive you?
If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? When you know the kind of mark you want to leave, you know how to live, for day by day we complete our work and open paths for others who will come.
The challenges of life
We are not here to be happy; we come into the world to face challenges. In a similar vein, Scott Peck expressed in 1978 in his book ‘The Road Less Traveled’ that: ‘Life is difficult and consists of a series of decisions; if you accept that, you become a free person; if not, you will always feel like a victim’.
When faced with any difficulty life throws up, ask yourself: does this happen because of me? If the answer is yes, address it with the resources you have at your disposal right now. If not, stop clinging to what happened and focus on things you can control, such as your reaction to what happens.
Choose your way of thinking
In his book Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman speaks of two modes of thought: the first is automatic and intuitive, governed by emotions. The second is reflective and rational. If we use the fast thinking when we should be thinking slowly, we tend to make serious errors.
If you don’t know why something keeps recurring in your life, ask yourself five linked questions. For example: ‘I always choose the wrong partners’. And why is that? ‘Because I am swayed by first impressions’. And why does that happen? And so on. Answering the fifth why will lead you to the true heart of the matter.
