Problems to a Solution, Google way

Sometimes, we come across a seemingly insurmountable challenge and wonder if this would ever get resolved. All that matters in those times is a simple straight answer to get rid of the issue. Google is usually a wonderful tool for such situations. But then, it can frustrate even the most patient ones with some confusing and contradicting answers. The over smartness of this search engine can end up creating Problems to a solution, as I have experienced a few times. My relationship with Google is like Tom's relationship with Jerry. Always want to be with it but annoyed with it within few minutes of getting together.

I had this unenviable privilege of being in a sticky situation and wanted Google to bail me out. Little did I realise that it was one of those 'Google moment's where it decided to spin me around from one cryptic solution to the next until I decided that I was better off with the problem than searching for the solution.  Here are some of the pearls of wisdom that Google offered as a possible answer to my conundrum.

“Problems are the stepping-stone to success”.

An annoying and eternally optimistic quote that makes us believe that problems are the best thing that can happen to us? That is a convenient excuse to set me up for the next wisdom that says "Failures are the stepping-stone to success". I should have taken the cue that Google was lazy that day and wanted me to accept the problem and not bother making its crawlers work. 

Problems and failures may teach us something and make us wiser but I was not in a mood for a stepping-stone or even a ladder that day. I was not even interested in that success. All that I wanted was to get rid of the problem. Quickly.  I was looking for a quick answer, an elevator. 

Annoyed at this stepping stone metaphor I continued my quest. Search that is.

”There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts” - Richard Bach

Frustrated at my determination, Google tried to make me believe that there is a gift with every problem. Either that or tried to make me feel guilty for creating the mess that I was trying to get out of. Just to make it clear, I neither chose the problem nor did I need any gifts. All I wanted was a solution that would help me get rid of the issue. 

I was not giving into Google's tactics to make me give up the search. 

“If the problem can be solved why worry? If the problem cannot be solved worrying will do you no good.” - Shantideva

Wow. What a hopeless gem. Who said anything about worrying. Now Google decided to play mind games with me to give up this search. It wanted to convince me that I am worried and that is going to do me no good. Maybe it wanted me to just get on that stepping-stone, take the gift and live with the problem. But the strategy almost started working on me. This quote sowed some seeds of doubts in my mind and I was beginning to get confused. To worry or not to worry. That was the question. 

But then I recovered in time. I needed my answer, not smart-sounding wisdom. 

“I am not smart. I stay with the problems longer”- Albert Einstein

That was a cheap shot. Was it not? Was Google trying to imply that if the greatest human mind stayed longer with the problem, then an ordinary mortal like me should live with it forever? In case Google forgot, all that Einstein cared for was to break atoms that cannot be seen by the naked eye. Hence, the problems he stayed with were probably not too big. Relatively speaking, that is. 

Forget about staying with my problems, I didn’t want to stay on this quote any longer. So I moved on and I was not letting Google off the hook as yet.

“There is no problem so complicated that it cannot be run away from”. Richard Bach, Illusions

Solutions don’t get simpler and more practical than this. Problems are hard to deal with so why make the situation harder than it already is. Looking for the nearest exit is not a bad option. Actually,  the idea of evading the problem was brilliant. 

Finally, the reluctant Google inadvertently gave me the perfect answer. Or so I thought. The problem with happiness is that it doesn't last forever. Someone throws a spanner at it eventually.

“All too frequently a problem evaded is a crisis invited” – Henry Kissinger

The German-born American statesman and political scientist threw this spanner that drove me ‘nuts’ again. To evade or not evade. That became the question now. 

Or was it another salvo from Google? All this while,  It was trying to throw me off the track with contradicting pearls of wisdom when i was desperate for an answer. And just when I settled on an answer, it wanted to create Problems to the solution. 

“Sometimes problems don’t require a solution to solve them; instead they require maturity to outgrow them”- Dr Steve Maraboli

Is that a truce from Google? How simple was that solution? We don’t solve problems but outgrow them. And here I was, searching all over the place for a solution that was as easy as this. No more sticky situations or challenges in life. All I have to do is grow up. 

Sorry, Google for doubting you. You are after all the be-all and end-all for me. Annoying as you may be, you are still a friend that I literally 'look-up' to.

Satisfied with the solution and glad to have made peace with Google, I was about to close my computer. Just then, another search result popped up. Googles parting gift that made me scream "Not Ok Google"

“That's the real trouble with this world. Too many people grow up” – Walt Disney

Tom & Jerry might one day make peace with each other but Google and I could never do that. But just as those Disney characters, I can never live without Google either.