We’ve all avoided a problem (or two) hoping it will go away. Sometimes, we’re in luck and they do… but other times they linger and we eventually need to look directly at them (read more about why this is a big win here). The first step isn’t finding the solution, or even thinking about the solution. It’s identifying the problem - giving it a name so you can then start solving it. 

The problem you are trying to solve is clearly not straightforward - if it was, you’d have solved it already. So, now we’ve got that out of the way, here are a few things to remember while you look at naming the problem…

"I don't think people realise the power in being able to name a struggle. The word isn't the problem, it's the beginning of finding solutions!" - Seonaidh Jamieson

#1 Late Diagnosed Neurodivergence Impacts Our Perceptions

I was once told that my “ADHD couldn’t show up everywhere”, but oooh boy. It does. 

When living with unidentified and undiagnosed ADHD or autism, we get really good at finding reasons for things we can’t explain. Well, I didn’t do my homework because I thought it was for next Friday. I forgot to pay that bill because I’ve been so busy at work. I didn’t see my keys on the side because… I have a poltergeist? 

When we have to provide a ‘good enough’ or ‘plausible enough’ reason for blocks we don’t fully understand, we get really good at intellectualising problems in a way that sounds convincing. While this is adaptive in the moment, overtime we may start believing we are the problem (cue people pleasing and perfectionism..).

When trying to identify the problem, remember you are not fundamentally flawed and you can find a solution that works for you. You don’t need to change or ‘be better’ to solve this problem!

#2 The Problem Might not be Close to The Symptoms

During my conservation career, I worked to improve habitat in and around an urban river. Close to its confluence with the next river across, there was a stretch often used by trout for laying their eggs. Trout need gravelly, silt free riverbeds for creating redds, allowing oxygen rich water to wash over their eggs. This area was becoming increasingly silty, with gaps in the gravel filled in and the trout having increasingly difficulty finding suitable spots for their eggs. This area was heavily urbanised (right beside a supermarket car park), so it would be easy to assume the silt was coming from footfall and exposed soil in the area - but there was way more silt than could be explained in the surrounding area alone.

About 10 km upstream there was a large beech woodland. Beech trees are notorious for shading out other plants, and creating large areas with no understory and large areas of exposed soil. This is where the silt was coming from.

The problem we faced was a silted up trout redd, and the solution was felling certain areas of a woodland and planting other trees and shrubs to hold together the soil on steep slopes. We planted trees to help fish.

In our increasingly complicated and wicked world, the route of our problems can be several degrees of separation away from our symptoms. If you’ve not found the answer yet, you may need to zoom out even further.

#3 Realising We Can’t Find the Problem IS Progress

When running your business, you wear a wide variety of hats. You deliver your area of expertise, you manage your clients, send invoices, and become a generalist in many ways.

Our brains are wonderful, but we have several biases including “What You See Is All There Is”. We are not good at seeing what’s missing from a situation, set, or even our own skill set. When we accept we cannot find or see the problem, it opens us up to ask for help from people with different skills to our own.

Think of this like taking your car to the garage - you know how to drive it, but you can’t always find and fix the source of that expensive sounding noise!

#4 Sometimes We Need to Look Inward

So, you are not the problem but sometimes our thinking isn’t the most helpful. If we keep coming across a block over a certain task (usually it’s marketing - it’s the number one task my clients struggle with!) there may be more to it than logic, systems, processes, or skills.

Take some time to reflect on your feelings and thoughts about the area experiencing the symptoms of the problem, and look for any of the following:

• Limiting beliefs - I’m not the sort of person who…

• Unchecked expectations - I can’t do this unless…

• Shoulds and other unnecessary rules - I should only do this if…

• Mind reading - If I do this then people will think…

• Predicting the future - If I do this then…

• Avoidance behaviours - If I do this instead then I avoid…

• Fears - If I do this, then I’ll need to deal with…

This is why I blend business growth coaching with other modalities - when you’re self-employed, business is personal!

#5 Solving One Problem May Reveal Others

As you look to solve this problem, you may uncover other snags or bottlenecks. This is not a sign of any failings. It’s just a very normal part of improving your business - a process that’s never really finished!

Solving your original problem may even create new ones. The aim is not to have no problems, but to continually be having better problems!

Labels can be a controversial topic, but when it comes to solving problems they are incredibly helpful. Once you can name a problem, you can Google a solution. Naming a problem is the first step to solving it, and for some tricky troubles can take some time and energy - all time and energy well spent!