What is my problem?

What bothers you?

We’re not assuming that there is anything wrong with you. Rather, the emphasis of the question should be:

“What is MY problem?”

When it comes to unpacking and clarifying your individual purpose or that of a company, people often get stuck in philosophical loops that don’t seem to lead anywhere. A cool shortcut towards (finally) getting an inclination of what the answer might be, is paying attention to what bothers you. Continuously. Is there a problem in the world, your country, community, family or personal life that you feel particularly passionate about solving? Something you feel a sense of duty towards solving? That could be the answer to “What is MY problem?”

As an example, at PurposeWorks we are convinced that work should not suck. The problem from our point of view is that too many people don’t like (even hate) what they do and that’s not good. We should not hate what we do. Work is too large a part of life to be dreaded. If we enjoy what we do, we show up differently in the rest of our lives and make a more positive impact. So, we help organisations create environments that people enjoy working hard in. That’s one of OUR problems.

Some thoughts on problems include the following:

• Although problems can differ in size and scope, just because yours seems small in comparison to what others might be working on, that doesn’t make it any less worth solving.
• Also, with some problems there is no ending – they need continuous solving. That’s also fine. Just don’t stop doing what you can to solve them. This could possibly be what makes your life worth while.
• Some problems (if not most) are too big for one person to solve. Look for likeminded people that are committed towards solving the same problem as you. Work with them. That’s really what organisations should be doing, all the time.
• There is a BIG difference between noticing problems, being vocal about them on social media, complaining about them and actually doing something about them. Pay attention to the difference and do something that makes a real difference.

This is your homework for the weekend. Ask yourself: “What is MY problem?” And then think about what you could be doing about it. Please let us know what you come up with, we would love to know.

At PurposeWorks we are all about Making You and Your Work Rock. Our focus is on Organisational Health and Design, Employee Centered Culture, Leadership Development and Performance Coaching. For more information on how we can help you create a work environment that rocks, develop a great team, become an inspiring leader or unlock your personal excellence talk to us at info@purposeworks.co.za.