Can I tell you a secret?
I hate – I’m talking loathe – the problem/solution framework so prolific in sales and marketing. Every time someone asks me what problem I solve for my ideal client (another rant for another day), it takes everything I have to keep myself from an outburst. Every time, I feel like screaming:
People cannot be reduced to tidy problems and black-and-white solutions! People are people! And so am I!
Dammit. Seriously.
I mean, I get it. Or rather, I very much understand the mechanics and the application and the effectiveness of this framework for bottom-line results. If you want to make more money, have more success, you have to solve a problem in a systematic way, over and over again. I guess I’ve just come to see and feel the distinct difference between success in profit and purpose and people. I choose to operate on different assumptions.
Obviously, I take issue with this approach in business, but even more so, I take issue with it when it comes to life and fitness and body confidence. The problem/solution framework has been taken to the extreme in health and wellness, that’s for sure. I mean, throughout the decades, we’ve even formed the habit of deeming parts of our bodies “problem areas.”
But it’s never as simple as a solution, is it? As much as we might want to seek safety and success in structure, how odd that we never truly find it there.
Where we almost always find it is somewhere in the muck. In the middle. In the exploration of figuring out what the problem even is, or whether there’s a problem at all. In the gentle nudge into awareness of options, rather than the defined dedication to a straight-line plan.
I recently chatted about this experience with Alicia Brown on her podcast, The Kitchen Table. Alicia is a registered dietitian, coaching clients through Intuitive Eating and “escaping the dungeon of diet culture,” so you can imagine how we might connect immediately and deeply. But even more than some of the recent conversations I’ve had on podcasts, this one really excited me.
We spent some time really dissecting this problem/solution situation. We also talked about the real problem with the perpetual pursuit of thinness, which is a super juicy bit of conversation. But then we went even further into how to get out of this mindset, what to do instead. Like:
- The turning point for connecting to your purpose when you feel lost.
- The best starting place to build your self-confidence.
- The most helpful, practical tool for big mindset shifts.
Spoiler alert: The last two things are both mini-workshops in the upcoming Boost your body love free event with even more in-depth how-tos, so don’t miss that.
Not only is this podcast a really good conversation that I think you’ll find insightful and relatable, but it’s also chock full of really helpful and practical tips you can implement immediately to increase your confidence and live a more purposeful life.
Plus, Alicia has a ridiculously soothing voice. Trust me, you want to listen for that fact alone. She just makes me want to relax and hug it out.
You can listen to my episode here, or by clicking the image below. Or, of course, find The Kitchen Table wherever you listen to podcasts too. Oh, and you can watch it as a video on YouTube, if you want to see my face!
And even if you have no desire to listen to yet another podcast today, at least take this one thing with you:
You are not a problem to be solved. Recognize your humanity, and rather than desperately seeking solutions, just start by meeting yourself exactly where you are.
If you’re ready to explore options, schedule a free call with me directly below to talk mindset coaching.
And if this idea even remotely either frustrates or intrigues you, sign up for Boost your body love. It’s not just fitness and body, it’s confidence and life.
You can get more alerts about podcasts and other purposeful life reminders by signing up for weekly emails here.