Everything Is Figureoutable
“The hardest part of solving a problem is accurately defining it.”
One thing you can count on in life is a reliable stream of problems. You're running late and you have no idea where you put your car keys. Your dog continues to eat more furniture than kibble. Your kid thinks sleep is overrated. You have a job you want to leave, but what the hell would you even do? You start by adopting a belief that everything is figureoutable.
You look at the problems you face on any given day and it's incredible you even make it out the front door. There's the fight you had the night before with your partner. You lie awake, staring into darkness while your blood boils from feeling like things will never change. There's the dread of Monday mornings that creeps into your thoughts Sunday night. You desperately want to leave your job before you lose yourself.
What do you do in these moments that feel impossible to change?
How do you handle it?
You get good at asking questions.
The brain is wired to answer questions. No matter what question you ask, your brain will snap into action and start searching for an answer.
The brain is like a computer in that it will search endlessly until it can close the story loop of the question.
The brain’s only job is to save calories and keep you alive. It's working with efficiency in mind.
Don't believe me? A recent study of Google search habits found that 92% of people never go past the first page of search results.
Does that mean the first page of Google contains all the best answers? Hell, no.
Your search results are limited by the questions you ask – in the same way that the solutions to all the problems you face in life are limited by the questions you ask.
If you want to face your fears, fulfill your dreams, and find a better way forward you need a plan.
And in order for you to change some part of your life or to overcome a problem you're facing, you need to learn something new.
New York Times bestseller of Everything Is Figureoutable, creator of B-School and entrepreneur phenomenon Marie Forleo laid out two destructive thoughts that can pop up when you're learning something new.
Here's where things get interesting.
These questions open up an entire world that was previously closed to you. It's not about having the immediate ability to solve the problem. It's as Martin Luther King Jr. said, "You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step." Each problem presents you with an opportunity to move forward, to improve.
It's a problem for a reason.
It's something you view as an obstacle in the way of where you are and where you want to go.
Some people face the same problems their entire life because they never seek a solution. But as author Ryan Holiday points out, "No one said this would be easy, or even that it would be fun, but it is a fact that there is always something you can do. The question is only whether you will do it or not."
What do you really wish you had the courage to do?
Follow up: How can you take the first step in the next 5 minutes?
Share your first step in the comments below.
Dave Grohl wasn't much for music lessons. He explains his unique approach to figuring out guitar - and we get a musical demo.
Why do we put off decisions that could give us a better future? I've been at that crossroads many times in my life. Whether it was a decision to start my own business, launch a podcast or even ask my partner to marry me. I knew all three of these decisions would give me a better life. But in the back of my head, all I could think about is what if I ended up being a colossal failure?