Sometimes we are not fooled by hidden clues but by obvious factors. For instance: What is unusual about the following words: revive, banana, grammar, voodoo, assess, potato, dresser, uneven? Start keeping time and see how long it takes you to figure it out.

We are often confronted with things in life that are supposed to have an obvious answer. But when we stand in need of knowing what to do next, the answer does not come as easily as we think it should. It’s a matter of looking at all the options. I have a rule when it comes to finding solutions. I never call what I’m facing, “a problem.” The dictionary defines “problem” as: “something that is difficult to deal with: something that is a source of trouble, worry, etc.” Webster also says that a problem is a feeling we get when we do not like or want to do something.

I’ve always insisted on calling them “challenges.” A challenge is a question or demand that arouses and stimulates thinking because we are convinced that it can be solved or accomplished. That’s because it becomes a quest for truth and finding proof. One dictionary defines it this way: “Something that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, special effort.”

People who always deal with such situations as problems can quickly become discouraged, despondent, demoralized or disheartened and want to give up. People who see them as challenges feel the call to exercise their skill, strength and intelligence. Challenges are a stimulant, not a sedative like problems. – Dr. Robert R. Seyda

By the way, the answer to the brain teaser we started with about why those words are unusual, for each word, take the first letter and place it at the end. It spells the same word backwards.