Asking “what problem am I trying to solve?” can help you:
- Decide if this thing you’re trying to accomplish is even worth accomplishing. You’re forced to unpack your answer and determine why you want to do or achieve this new thing in the first place. Our answers can provide clarity and better direction.
Say you want to lose 10 pounds. How has your current weight manifested itself as a problem? You can’t fit into an old pair of pants? Could you just, like… buy the same pants in a larger size?
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Hone your approach. Solving a problem is inherently more tactical and specific than working toward a goal. “Problems are usually associated with some sort of existing behavior,” Trevor said. “You can reverse-engineer the steps required to change that behavior, and it’s obvious and measurable when the behavior and the problem it’s causing have changed.” Like fitting into those new pants.
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Commit. If you’ve identified a real problem, said Trevor, it won’t go away on its own. You can’t just abandon it like you can with a goal; If you do, it will only get worse. Focusing on a problem is better at forcing action — and solving them inherently improves your life.
Another use case: I recently decided I wanted to read more classic literature. My answer to the “what problem” question was this: I knew that my writing was limited by the fact that I only read nonfiction and reading fiction was a way to solve that.
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