For most of my life, I’ve had a desire to make things better. To improve whatever’s around me, or to optimize existing systems I find myself in. And although this mentality can be beneficial, there’s also a downside.
You see, it’s become quite easy to spot things that could be better, systems that could be updated, inefficiencies that could be eliminated. But it’s also easy to stop there, to feel good about identifying the problem, without actually figuring out a realistic way to solve it.
If we look around, there are bound to be things that could be improved. Perhaps inefficiencies in the way things are done, communication that could be tightened up, or policies that need to change. But if we’re content to stop there — to identify what’s wrong — but then go no further, what have we done to better the situation?
Anyone can point out the problems. It’s more rare for someone to actually provide solutions.
Benefits of finding solutions
Focusing on finding solutions, instead of only highlighting the problems, can be challenging. But it also provides a number of benefits.
First, there’s the value of the solution itself. If we’re able to find solutions to real problems, we’ve helped out all those who were affected by that problem.
It may feel good in the moment to commiserate with others about all the things that could be better. It’s another thing, though, to actually figure out a way forward — a skill that’s valuable regardless of the situation.
But beyond the solution itself, there’s also value in the process of searching for one. Especially if we’re trying to come up with realistic solutions that will work in the actual situation we’re in.
Because if the goal is real solutions, then we also have to consider the constraints of the situation: What would work given the budget or time or personnel constraints involved? Sometimes it’s easier to simply complain about the problem, than to think though the practical logistics of solving it.
But carefully considering the constraints of the problem, not only can increase our empathy for those who face these kinds of decisions, but also helps to develop our own resourcefulness and problem-solving skills. It doesn’t take much to be good at pointing out problems. But becoming good at figuring out solutions, especially for resolving complicated situations, takes practice. Practice that we’ll never get if we always stop at simply identifying what’s wrong.
Choosing to focus on solutions
One practical step that can be done, and one I’m working on implementing myself, is to choose not to complain about problems unless we’re also willing to propose solutions to those problems. This keeps us from stopping at simply identifying the issue, prodding us to go the extra step and figure out what we can actually do about it
There will always be issues to address and problems to solve. And identifying them is indeed the first step to fixing them. But if we stop there, not only will the problems not go away, but we’ll miss out on the opportunity to be a part of the solution.