In organizations when people see a problem, they are often told to point it out. Identify the issue and if possible, suggest a way to fix it. This seeks to ensure everyone is on guard for keeping things running smoothly.

However, in many cases just pointing out a problem is not enough. Sometimes other people don’t acknowledge it is a problem or make no attempt to fix it. Perhaps it gets added to the pile of tasks to do “someday”. This is can be disheartening, particularly when it’s a serious issue that should be fixed.

In these situations, taking the first step towards solving the problem can go a long way. Create your solution and share it.

However, there are many times when you cannot solve it alone. The next steps can vary here. Perhaps you can make a workaround, which can show the value of fixing it properly. Partially develop the solution and offer an easy path for others to complete it. Anything you can do to show progress and make it easier for others can help resolve the issue.

Often by taking initiative and making progress, you can develop momentum for change. Once people see the benefits of making improvements, it can help change the culture of the organization for the better.

If the issue is important, it’s worth taking the first step.

We are always trying to pitch and convince someone on an idea. This can range from proposing a new project, suggesting changes in how an organization operates, or even deciding where to go to lunch as a group.

All too often people approach this very focused on what they want and why. They want to achieve their goals, which is natural. They propose their idea and sometimes people agree with it. However, without understanding what your audience desires, this is just taking the chance that your desires are aligned.

A more effective approach is to seek to first understand your audience. Determine what they want. Then see how your idea can help them satisfy their goals. Or modify it in a way that all parties can be satisfied.

By satisfying other people’s goals and desires, we can more easily also satisfy our own.

People have many different goals. Get their dream job, make a sales target for their company, learn a new skill or master an existing one, improve their existing relationships or make new ones.

Sometimes when people discuss their goals, these come across as aspirational. We want to start working as a data scientist, but do not take serious action towards getting a career. We want to make new friends, yet never put ourselves out there to meet people.

Some of these goals are not true goals. They should be discarded. But for any serious goal, we should research the path to success. Determine what actions and behaviors are likely to help us reach it. We can look to others who reached our target goals to understand what actions may be worth emulating.

By researching what is required for success, we have a path. While in some cases success is based on luck, with most things you can change the probabilities in your favor. You just need to do the appropriate actions and spend your time and energy pursuing it.

Any meaningful goal will have a price. Just figure out the costs and then pay the price.

We all take on a variety of tasks in our lives. This can range from baking a cake, giving a presentation at work, to learning a new language.

Many of these types of tasks can be quite challenging (and intimidating!) if you have never done it before. How do I bake the cake? What should the presentation cover? How do I go about learning a new language?

What makes all these tasks tractable is having some structure. A cake recipe to follow. An overview of what the presentation should cover or an existing example. A strategy and plan for how and when to study and learn the language.

Giving structure can change a task from seeming impossible to accomplish, to giving you a path forward. It does not mean the activity will be easy, but we know how to spend our efforts.

Whenever we are struggling with a task, it’s important to make sure we have given ourselves enough structure to succeed. This is even more important when we delegate these tasks to someone else.

A little effort up front to provide structure can go a long way.

The world is full of similar products. Whether this is music, art, writing, or even businesses and software.

Depending on your goals, it can be great to have some varieties and find the exact product that resonates with you. A song that speaks to you. Writing that follows your own feelings and thoughts. Software that conforms to your exact process and needs.

When you seek to create your own product, it can feel like everything has been created and done before. However, it’s important to reflect on these similarities when we are using products.

Just because something similar exists, doesn’t mean that it cannot be made better or in a different manner. You can bring your unique angle to the creation. Address specific needs or desires. Resonate with specific people.

Not everyone may prefer it, but you can never please everyone.

Certain events facilitate a fresh start. Moving to a new city. Starting a new job. A new semester in school.

People use these transitions as an opportunity to change their life for the better. Adopting healthy habits and behaviors. Learning a new skill. Taking on a different hobby.

While it may be easier to make changes when you have a transition in your life, it is not required. For example, people also use the New Year to make new resolutions and changes in their life. Yet it is important to remember that the New Year is only the transition from one day to the next. Nothing in your own life necessarily changes because the year does. But it still can be a great time to make positive change. As can any day.

There is no need to wait for a special event or day to improve your life. You can take action right now. One step at a time.

It’s natural to think about other people and compare your life to theirs. They have the perfect marriage. The dream job. A satisfying career and social life. Well-behaved and successful children.

With so many ways to view others’ lives via social media, it’s natural to feel like you are behind in many categories of your own life. You can always find someone who is better in one dimension.

This can lead you to take on goals and improve. Try to get a better career. Work on finding a partner or improving your existing relationships. Try to be a better parent.

Seeking to grow and improve from others can lead to positive outcomes. However, it’s important to remember that many people that appear to lead perfect lives have serious flaws. The successful entrepreneur who is never there for her family. The perfect marriage that is full of infidelity and heated arguments in private. The debilitating health issues that cripple his sleep at night.

When we look at others, it’s important to remember how little we really know of most people’s lives. The healthier approach may be to just focus on our own situation and try to lead the best lives we can. We all will make mistakes. We all will have negative events in our lives.

But one thing we can change is how we approach the journey.

Many different services offer regular checkups. Doctors, dentists, car maintenance are just a few.

These routine checkups can be a hard sell for many people to do, particularly when you are not in the habit. A doctor checkup has no immediate positive outcome. I won’t discover new and better health at the doctor’s office. I will only potentially be informed of some undetected problems or issues.

In the long-run, this early detection of problems is vital. Early-stage cancer may be treatable. An undetected automotive issue can be fixed safely.

One of the challenges we all face is to adopt this long-term thinking when it comes to discovering and fixing potential problems. While this can be against our default impulses, taking the long view on fixing problems preemptively can lead to a better life.

The air conditioner breaks down for the third time, requiring a maintenance call to fix it again. The road’s potholes that get covered over repeatedly with more asphalt. The makeshift fix to get your faucet to stop leaking.

You can patch the problem temporarily to things running quickly. This can be critical when time or money cannot be spared.

However, it’s important to recognize the difference from a temporary patch versus fixing the core issue. By going to the root cause and doing the appropriate fix, you can prevent many future problems. This can save you even more time or money in the long-run.

All too often in our haste to get a quick patch, we overlook properly fixing the issue.