Problems vs Puzzles

Do you have problems?

I like logistics. I like efficiency. I like maximizing opportunities. In short, I like solving puzzles.

But sometimes I am drained by all the small annoying things, and I'm exhausted by the big, overwhelming things. The problems sometimes seem just too hard.

This week, I was whining about some of those pesky problems. You know, the ones you don't have to solve right away but you probably eventually should get around to solving eventually?

Yeah, those problems.

I couldn't quite put my finger on why I was unable to just friggin' do the thing.

And, then I came across this quote that explained everything.

"I don't have problems, I have puzzles." -- Quincy Jones.

Think about it for a moment. You have solved every one of your problems to date. none of them have been, in the end, too annoying or to overwhelming. You just eventually figured it out.

So, what if we remembered the "figuring it out" part of the problem and saw those problems more as puzzles?

For me, that makes the problems less annoying, less overwhelming, less, well, boring. If the thing standing in my way isn't a problem....

I don't have the access I want...
I don't have the skills I need...
I don't have the attention I desire...

...but a puzzle...

I can reverse engineer how someone else got there.
I can draw the path through the learning.
I can communicate better to those with whom I'm in community.

Simple.

What would you do if you saw your problems as puzzles? And how would that change your energy towards solving them sooner?