When All You Have is a HAMMER, Everything Look like a NAIL

When All You Have is a HAMMER, Everything Look like a NAIL

Apologies for being a late comer for this expression because historically, this is an English expression that traces all the way back in 1868 with that 'Birmingham screwdriver' which got derived in the 20th century with this one-liner: When All You Have is a HAMMER, Everything Look like a NAIL.  But this statement means a mouthful because countless realizations came in the way for more than one century now.  Simply put, this is a realization that has been well accepted across cultures and countries.

Even in Behavioral Science, Silvan Tomkins stated that there is always that TENDENCY of JOBS to be ADAPTED to TOOLS instead of ADAPTING TOOLS to the JOB.  And even in this current age of technology, Kenneth Colby stated that the 'COMPUTER PROGRAM MAY BE OUR HAMMER'.  Meaning, we need to remind our developers that the computer program must be intuitive enough to execute beyond what was coded to execute. 

In our life, how many times were you left with a hammer on hand and you were so glued to it such that you were treating things you see as just another nail ?  In school, did you treat academic work as JUST FOR COMPLIANCE?  At work, did you work JUST AS A DELIVERABLE?  In your relationship, did you treat your spouse/partner just as that, just as a partner based on the perceived pre-defined role?  In business, when the cash register was constantly busy, how did you treat your customers?  Just as sources of your revenues?  When you get confronted with the trials and life, when you felt helpless, how did you handle things?  Did you immediately run and cling to the helpline just because they did extend help for you in the past?  

What we are harping here is that you need to think OUT OF THE BOX.  NEVER dictate your next moves based on the tools you are equipped with.  NEVER compel yourself to pound on something where the outcome is unpredictable at best because that means you are NOT equipped.  NEVER demand everyone to toe the line at work if you yourself will be hard pressed to do the same if you were in their shoes.  

When coping with problems, you might be relying on the same coping mechanisms when faced with certain problems rather than finding new solutions.  This over-reliance can often maintain psychological difficulties and inhibit processes of change.  Simply put, it is important to learn different and new ways of thinking and behaving when facing recurring challenges.  Learning these techniques forms a fundamental aspect of psychological therapy and helps us identify factors that are maintaining their difficulties and to develop new ways of responding to them.  What's our wake up call then?  When All You Have is a HAMMER, Everything Look like a NAIL❗❗❗