Choose bigger problems. Get bigger outcomes. Turn problems into growth.
The night before a big client workshop, I did what many “high performers” do when nerves hit: I polished my slides . . . then reorganized the junk drawer . . . then color-coded my highlighters . . . and, naturally, alphabetized the pantry. At midnight I was fully prepared—to alphabetize the garage.
I wasn’t preparing. I was avoiding. With excellence.
The bigger problem on my desk wasn’t slides—it was this: “Will my workshop inspire three measurable behavior changes for 50 managers in 30 days?”
That problem needed a clear message, a few concrete examples of real transformation, and a delivery that would make the session unmissable.
Here’s the truth: we don’t have a problem with problems; we have a problem with the pressure we feel around problems.
When the pressure signal shows up, we default to busy work. But problems aren’t intruders; they’re professors—our best teachers.
The fastest path to skill, confidence, and mastery is to stop dodging class and enroll.
Brooke Castillo says, “Discomfort is the currency of your dreams.” Refuse the tuition, forfeit the degree.
Making Your Brain (and Problems) Work FOR You
Your brain is a problem-finding machine. If you try to avoid problems, it just finds smaller, pettier ones—email backlog, gossip loops, paperwork, decision drift.
Those are low-quality problems. They burn energy, keep you stuck, and buy you nothing.
When we choose high-quality problems, we focus on value creation, premium positioning, courageous conversations, and repeatable systems. Same pressure, better future.
John Maxwell says,
“Good management of bad experiences leads to great growth.”
The 10x Filter—Ben Hardy Style
Ben teaches leaders to 10x—even 100x—their results by choosing goals so meaningful they demand a different problem-solving filter. You can’t scale by solving small problems.
Filter your competing goals down to one mission-critical target—high enough to force clarity—and let that target eliminate the noise. When the noise is gone, the vital signal is obvious.
Here are some steps:
- Transform a low-quality problem into a 10× goal “Our sales pipeline is a mess” → “In 90 days, close five ideal-fit clients at premium pricing with a 60% win rate.” You can use this template: By [date], move [metric] from [current] to [target] by [levers] for [ICP] (Ideal Customer Profile). That transforms a complaint into a clear future outcome.
- Eliminate the 80% If it doesn’t solve that problem or move that mission-critical goal, it’s out. No sentimentality. Your future deserves ruthless kindness.
- Unique-ability focus Do more of what only you can do; systematize or delegate the rest.
When you pick a 10x goal, you change your filter. Noise drops out, signal gets loud. The list of “coulds” collapses into a narrow path of “musts”—the few actions that multiply results and match the work only you can do. Everything else is delegated, automated, or deleted.
Turn Today’s Problems into Progress
1. Define your problem cleanly. Ask “why” it is a problem, until you hit bedrock. One sentence—no blame, no drama. Low-quality: “People won’t pay my price.” High-quality: “I’m designing products and offers that attract highly qualified, decisive buyers.”
2. Stabilize under pressure. Acknowledge the signal; don’t argue with it. Breathe, write the stakes in one line, keep your hands on the wheel.
3. Execute one next rep. What’s one behavior that would be true if this were already solved? Do that today, in 25 focused minutes.
This Week’s “Lab Work”
- Monday — Problem Upgrade: Write your #1 problem in low- and high-quality form. Choose the higher one as your 90-day course.
- Tuesday — Signals & Stress: Identify three moments the pressure signal spikes. Pre-decide your response (script + action) for each.
- Wednesday — 10× Goal: Define an “A+” problem you’ll solve in 90 days (measurable, exciting, worth the discomfort).
- Thursday — Action Audit: Mark yesterday’s hours as Forward (created value) or Sideways (looked busy). Replace one Sideways block with a Forward block you can finish.
- Friday — Rules that Scale: End decision debt. Install one rule that prevents ten future choices (e.g., “No proposals before a discovery scorecard” or “Prices are never discussed before outcomes are defined.”)
Why It Works
Confidence isn’t an affirmation; it’s the residue of solved problems. When you upgrade the caliber of problems you choose to solve, you upgrade your capacity.
You sell and lead at the speed you grow.
Quick reframes to steal
- Money: “Not enough pipeline” → “Create a repeatable outreach rhythm that generates more demand than we can fulfill.”
- Team: “They resist change” → “Build a coaching cadence that connects change to what matters to them.”
- Time: “No bandwidth” → “Protect two daily needle-mover blocks with a simple non-negotiable calendar hold.”
Field Test
A regional VP kept perfecting CRM tags and email templates while enterprise deals stalled. We chose the bigger problem: shorten time-to-yes. One change: a discovery scorecard and a rule—every call ends with a defined next step or a clean no. The pipeline didn’t get busier; it got faster.
In football, teams don’t win by adding trick plays; they win by converting in the red zone. In business, that means fewer “nice touches” and more decisive moments: book the meeting, run the discovery, secure the next step. First downs win drives; first steps win deals.
I’m Here When You’re Ready
When you want to choose better problems—the kind that scale your success—I’m here to help. This is the heart of my Peak Performance Coaching: translate overwhelm into a clear plan, build repeatable systems, and hone the mindset that supports it all.
