Turning a problem on its head

Reader question:

What does "turn a problem on its head" mean? Please give examples.

My comments:

When you turn something on its head, you twist it, turn it sideways or upside-down. To turn something on its head literarily is to alter it, to contradict it. In a dictionary (Longman) explanation, to turn something on its head is "to consider a statement or idea in the opposite way from the way it was intended."

My favorite example of turning a problem on its head runs something like the following (I have a lot of practice at this):

Owen (not his real name) told me the other day that he has little interest in studying English because his teacher back in school many years ago never liked him. "That teacher," he said, "was never encouraging. I think I never developed an enthusiasm for English because of that teacher."

Oh dear! All teachers beware! This is how pupils pay you back (just kidding).

I don't have your teacher around, Owen, to give his side of the story. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But even supposing what you said is true, I can't help turning your problem on its head a little before giving it back to you: Your teacher's not your problem. Keep him out of it.

In all likelihood, your teacher could say that he was not discouraging. Or he could say that he was less than encouraging because you had never shown any interest. He could, you see, point his fingers right back at you.

A good teacher would not do things like that, of course. But let's face it, Owen, not all teachers are saints and angles and paragons of patience. They are human like you. They have faults, too, preferring pretty, bright and attentive students to others being perhaps one of the lesser flaws amongst them.

Thing is, what happened between you and your school teacher is in the past. It is just a memory. Your teacher has not been around for years. And you still blame him for your problem. It sounds a bit far-fetched, certainly too late.

What you need is a rethink. Your bad memory you can give away. It's not doing you any good. Give it up. You can give it up for free. Don't be stingy, give it up for free. I bet you won't be able to fetch five cents even if you put it up on e-Bay, so don't bother. Just give it up for free.

Then you can cultivate an enthusiasm for English, starting from today. Get on with your life and let your teacher be. I was going to say "let bygones be bygones" but then you might be distracted by another cliche. Let your teacher be. Don't pay him back with a bad memory - He may not deserve it anyway.

Now, I know breaking up with the past is hard to do. I know what you're going to say. You'll say you're not lying. You're not making anything up against your teacher. He hurt you and it still hurts.

I know. I trust you. I feel your pain. So let's go down that line of thinking a bit and see what that leads to. Suppose your teacher was just bad. He thought you were no good. He wanted you to fail at English. He wanted you to fail at everything you do.

Then, what are you going to do? Keep being angry with him and fail just to prove him right? Fail, so that he could say "I've told you so"?

A better policy, obviously, is to go the other direction and succeed. And that begins with cultivating an interest in English, starting today. There's no law saying that one who had little interest in English at school can't foster it later. There's no law saying that one whose teacher was not encouraging back at school can't develop that very interest later. All you need is to starting doing it without reasons and excuses. You can best do it of course by giving up your teacher as an excuse and tossing the blame.

You see, when you turn a problem on its head, the problem often ceases to be.

More newspaper examples next week.