If you were to take a few minutes to write down all the problems you see at work I have a feeling you could create a pretty long list. If you were to take a couple of minutes to write down all the struggles you have with health and wellness or relationships or any other topic you want to use, my guess would be it’s easy to create a long list as well. Problems are endless. And when we solve one, we’ll uncover a different one. That’s reality no matter how amazing an organization you work for, how fit you may be, or how many great relationships you may have.
If the task was to identify problems, we would all most likely be extremely successful. The easy part is identifying the problem. The difficulty lies in jumping in to solution. The people that really make an impact in this world, both to themselves and to others, are the ones willing to dive into the unknown and messy situations to try to find a better way forward. We need problem solvers.
What makes a person able to jump from a problem identifier to a problem solver? The answer to this will never be simple as a one-word answer but the word that helps take the biggest leap from problem identifier to problem solver is mindset. Think about it – if I enter a situation and I’m surprised running into a problem, it can at times be difficult to confront the fact I can’t keep sprinting forward and must spend time to problem solve. It’s easy to get sucked into this problem and become frustrated when time is invested in something I didn’t expect.
On the flip side, if the mindset going into a situation is I’m most likely going to run into problems along this journey, I’m not surprised when a hurdle pops up. I don’t need to waste time and energy being upset that a problem has arisen but instead, mentally I’m ready to jump right into problem solve mode.
Our mindset often helps us determine where our time and energy are invested. If we’re only a problem identifier, we’re often too stuck on the idea that a problem has arisen. If we’re a problem solver, we’re already acknowledging problems will be here and our time and energy immediately goes into solving for the problem. We’re bypassing the “why do I have to deal with this problem” phase of the process and go immediately into the messy situation to come out the other side in a better place.
As a coworker, person in relationships, or member of the community – do you want to stop short and only be a problem identifier or jump into the messiness and be a problem solver?
Take your step: look at the famous “Man in the Arena” speech that articulates so well the importance of diving into the messy to take a risk and see how big of an impact you can make.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong stumble, or where the doer of deeds could better have done. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do deeds; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph and the achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, and whose place shall never be taken by those who are too craven to enter the arena.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Cheers to those out there willing to jump into the arena!