Out of the common and the shared the unique and particular arises. This is true in all of nature, and it is true of human beings as well. The variety of the universe is the outgrowth of transactions between common factors. When habits don't work or they conflict with impulses or with the environment, the situation becomes problematic. One must stop to think, to analyze the situation, to figure out what went wrong and what to do about it.
Present difficulties are an opportunity for thought.
One examines the past. One faces the facts of the present situation. One imagines a way out of the present situation, a course of action leading to a favorable outcome. Intelligence is reflection upon what is needed to direct the conditions of the present situation. Intelligence increases with each new resolution and intervention.