Let’s face it. I love to solve problems. The satisfaction of solving something complicated with an elegant solution is a very addictive one.

Luckily there’s so many nice, juicy, problems out there, waiting to be solved. And probably most of them have so many different solutions available and a big part of the satisfaction of solving a problem comes from the hunt for the best solution. At least for me.

It can be quite tough, though. Choosing the best solution for the problem indicates that I know all of the possible solutions for the problem and I’ve ranked, completely objectively (subjectively), all of the solutions to be able to choose the best one.

And then the problem is solved. After which I often realize one or more of the following:

  • The problem did not need to be the best solution - any solution would be sufficient
  • The problem is not really my problem but someone else’s, and my solution likely sucks for them
  • The problem is not a real problem for anyone, and does not need to be solved

I get excited about problems and dive deep inside the solution realm, occasionally ignoring the problems I should be focused on.

We can’t choose all of our problems, but we can choose some of them. We can also choose to solve some of them with a good enough solution, even if our pride may tell otherwise.