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When trying to solve a problem, it's useful to identify the root of the problem. Once the root of the problem is fully understood, creative solutions arise more easily.
Consider the problem of drug abuse. It might appear that the root of the problem is the availability of illegal drugs. If that were true, cutting off a user's supply of drugs would solve the problem. But if a person's supply of illegal drugs were cut off, the person would simply shift to using legal drugs, such as alcohol. If the supply of all mind-altering drugs were cut off, the person's problem would probably shift to a different kind of inappropriate, obsessive behavior.
If your idea for solving a problem simply shifts the problem to different symptoms, you haven't identified the root of the problem. After all, the goal of solving problems is to make the problem disappear, not simply shift it to a different form.
Continuing with the problem of drug abuse, what is the root of the problem? In a sense it's the person's desire to take the drugs. If the person's desire to take drugs were eliminated, a person could be surrounded by a huge supply of drugs and not take any.
Until you have identified specific actions that can solve the problem, you have not yet identified the root of a problem.
In the drug abuse example, we need to ask: "Why does the person have a desire to take drugs?" Different drug users have different reasons. In some cases, the reason is a desire to escape their awareness of misery. In other cases, a person might lack social skills that are overcome by having something to talk about (drugs), having something to do (take drugs), and providing the camaraderie that comes from having a common enemy (those who fight drug use). Another motivation can come from accepting drug use as an acceptable excuse to get out of doing disliked chores. And, of course, taking drugs fits into the lifestyle of someone who earns a living selling drugs.
For each of these motivations, ideas for creative solutions to drug abuse easily arise. For example, if the reason is to escape misery, reducing the misery would reduce the motivation to take drugs. If a drug user lacks social skills, the person could be taught social skills (such as interpersonal communication and how to let go of anger indestructively) that foster healthy relationships. If a drug user sells drugs, the person could be helped to find a more productive profession. In all cases, a drug user could be taught a creative activity or skill such as gardening, playing sports, understanding technical equipment (including automobiles or electronic devices), singing, playing music, reading interesting books, telling stories, or dancing. Such activities not only provide an alternative use of time and a topic of conversation in social situations, but provide joy to balance misery and work. These are not easy solutions to the problem of drug abuse, but they would reduce the problem (and reduce other problems too). More importantly, these ideas provide examples of actions that become apparent by identifying the root of a problem.
Creative ideas for solving a problem arise naturally by identifying the root of the problem. However, identifying who to blame for the problem and what caused the problem are not the same as identifying the root of the problem. Finally, remember that you haven't identified the root of the problem until you have identified specific actions that will lead to improvement.
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