I came across this quote:
"“If you have a problem that can be solved with action, you don’t have a problem.” – Mel Robbins
I don't know who Mel Robbins is but I liked the quote. Enough that I posted it as a Facebook status. It really struck a chord with me. People tend to be happy to tell you all about their problems. And actually a part of my job is asking people about their problems.
Now as the quote suggests, there are a lot of people out there who think they have problems but they really don't. (To be clear, there are plenty of people with plenty of real problems.) Like I said, people like to talk about their problems. For whatever reason though, people don't necessarily like to solve their problems. Or I should say people aren't ready to solve their problems yet.
Now not all problems are created equals. Some problems only take seconds to solve and some will take years. When people are ready to solve their problems they don't just talk about them, they take action. And this is what all problems have in common. All problems (I believe) have actionable steps that can be taken to solve them.
(If your problem doesn't have steps you can take to solve it, then it's not a problem. It's a fact of life. You may not like it but it is what it is and you probably should be putting your attention elsewhere.)
So as part of my job I help people figure out the actionable steps to solve their problems. For example if my client's problem is they don't work out enough, then I'll suggest that they train with me more often. Obviously this may not be a viable option, so then we can come up with another option. We just repeat the process until we come up with a suitable solution.
A coach may make it easier for you and an experienced coach probably has heard your problem and has solutions that you probably wouldn't come up with on your own. That being said, while I'd love to have you all clients, you don't need me or any other coach to do this on your own.
To do it on you own, go backwards. What I mean is figure out what things are like when the problem is solved. What's difference between "I have a problem" and "problem solved"? If it's only one thing, take action to change that one thing. If the difference is a bunch of things, pick one and take action to change that one thing. Then pick something else and change that. When you get good at this (and this is where a good coach can work wonders) you'll get to a point where you'll learn to pick the things that solve the problem the quickest.
So I dare you to take one of your problems and take action to solve it. Let me know what your problem is/was and what action you're taking to solve it. Leave it in the comments.
