It is not a simple situation of “just” so and so.

Nonetheless, you do need to alleviate the problem that has been presented.

You might do well to consider the bigger picture first. It might be preferable to consider other options. You may want to evaluate how much you or society is suffering or bothered by the problem. In other words, it might not be worth making that change.

Why is this so?

Simply put, there are no simple solutions to problems. People’s actions are complex and their actions are caused by many factors.

Physicists know that when something is removed, it creates a vacuum. Something else will rush in to fill that vacuum. Similarly, when you solve a problem, another issue will rush in to fill the vacuum that was created by removing the problem. That new issue will not necessarily be a positive factor.

If you consider the issue before making the change, and then you can replace the negative issue immediately with a positive one: ñåø îøò åòùä èåá - “sur merah va’aseh tov” - first turn away from evil and then do good. Thus, before making any change be sure that the negative issue issue is replaced by a positive issue. You do not want to discover that an unpredictable, different negative aspect has replaced the negative issue.

The problem that replaced the old one may be worse than the original problem. We now have to replace or correct the new problem which is created.

This is a serious situation. As difficult as it was to remove the original problem, it is even more difficult to remove the new situation. People may reject or rebel against constant or frequent changes in their systems. They like to be left alone – just as you like to be left alone. Making the original change was a serious event for the person. They are not likely to be happy about making yet another change. Their body needs to rest before the next change. You may also lose their trust, when they question whether this will be the final change.

True, the second time around you are more likely to do anything necessary to replace the bad situation with a good one. However, that may not be enough of a consolation or encouragement for the client.

Summary:

A good counselor institutes a successful and well-thought-out “aseh tov” right before any vacuum is created, so that he can assure an overall improvement in the situation.

There are many people who have difficulty solving problems or helping other people solve problems.

One of the foremost considerations when dealing with problems is to create a situation in which the world is a better place and you are living in a better world as a result of solving the problem. If not, why bother?

Thus, if you did not consider all of the surrounding aspects of the problem properly then you might be in a strange situation. You might fix one problem by creating another one. Needless to say this is an untenable and foolish situation.

This is also why solving problems requires a great deal of planning and intensive study of the background and surrounding issues. It is imperative to clarify all of the issues and to verify that things will be done in a sensible way. It is important to consider all of the options when planning the best way to solve the problem in order to assure that the solution will not come at the expense of another issue with that or another person.

After considering all of the options you can select from among those that will not impact on anything else negatively. The number of options will undoubtedly be reduced very much and it will be much easier to select the best option for this situation.

Even if you do make a mistake you should leave the option of making a possible mistake, in which case such as selecting a bad option which will impact on something else. Therefore, part of the planning should include leaving yourself an out