Problems are just puzzles

There’s a problem you’re avoiding.

Maybe it’s so big that the mere thought fills you with dread. Maybe you’re distracting yourself with animal crossing so you don’t have to face it.

When we view problems as problems/issues, an interesting thing happens. Suddenly everything seems A HECK TONNE more daunting. Where do I start? What can I even do? Why try?

Say if you’re freelancing and the ideas just aren’t coming to you. The more you think about this problem, the more dread will sabotage you. Just imagining picking up that pencil signals ‘NOPE NOPE NOPE’.

Instead, what if you saw problems as puzzles?

Suddenly it’s a game waiting to be solved by you (and others). We don’t look at an 1000 piece and go “Ah fuck, that’s a big number”.

Instead, we find the corners (or start in the centre if you live wildly), and start piecing it together.

So going back to the freelance example, what can you do?

You could start by analysing 1 artist you respect. What about their ideas stand out to you? What if it’s that you’re trying to create ideas at night and you’re a morning person? What if sitting down isn’t how you come up with ideas? Why not go for a walk and bring something to note ideas on?

It’s manageable when you work on it bit by bit. There’s no pressure to fix everything in one go. All the focus is on gradual improvement.