You don’t start acting like a black belt when you get a black belt.
It’s only after you’ve acted like a black belt long enough that you finally receive one.
The same is true for any other identity you want to embody in life.
You become it by acting like it long enough.
The “becoming” doesn’t happen first.
Too busy for kindness?
Too rushed for manners?
Too inactive for exercise?
Too distracted for deep work?
Too preoccupied for listening?
Too stimulated for meditating?
Too overwhelmed for self-care?
Wait… what are our priorities again?
When exercising: dropping weight to improve form isn’t regressing.
When dieting: eating more calories to improve nutrition isn’t regressing.
When learning: slowing reading speed to improve comprehension isn’t regressing.
In a world that’s hyper focused on vanity metrics (e.g. 1RMs, calorie counting, reading x books / year)—doing something in the opposite direction might feel like backsliding.
When in reality, it’s being hyper focused on vanity metrics that’s causing us to backslide.
Don’t get it twisted.
There’s ALWAYS something that could be placed more urgently above the important tasks of the day.
Which means you could easily NEVER get to the important work.
In fact, this is precisely the case for far too many.
Don’t be a victim of urgent.
Some simple ideas:
Simple ideas become complicated when we ceaselessly collect and pivot to other (simple) ideas.
What makes simple ideas powerful is our relentless commitment to them.
Even when other shiny, new ideas come into view.
Take a simple idea and take it *seriously.*
When you’ve done your best Return to gratitude— Not your to-do list.
“Don’t be a “problem solver.” Be a “solutionist.” There is a difference. A problem solver spends a lot of time focusing on the problems. A solutionist acknowledges the problem while focusing on assessing the best solutions given the desired outcome.”
Samantha Postman, Twitter
And it’s even more than that for me.
Being a problem solver has a selfish connotation to it.
It confines the person—the solver of the problems—into a mindset where they need to be the one who does the solving.
So, rather than expanding their problem-solving capabilities and ideas to a broader network to include other (maybe more qualified) people and resources, they limit their focus to their own capabilities and resources which becomes a type of hindrance to the solution in itself.
This is where identifying as a solutionist can help.
Solutionists are focused on how they can help facilitate a solution. It’s a more selfless approach that taps into the bountiful resources that are available to each of us at any given moment in time.
It isn’t always easy to do this. Especially for those who see themselves as being great problem-solvers, do-it-themselvers, will-do-anything-to-help-you-ers.
But, how great are you really if you’re hindering the solution process? Or if you’re not helping in every possible way you can? Are you really willing to do anything for others—even if that means pointing them away from you?
Ultimately we can’t make solving problems about us. We have to make it about the act of facilitating more solutions for this world.
Because there will always be plenty of problems to solve.
No need to hog (or hinder) any one of them because of our egos.