Last year, I was talking to a Co-founder of a company I was interviewing for.
We were talking about their presence in Hyderabad, how they grew into a niche service startup that was solving problems for their customers. He was giving me a peek into their future plans, how the Hyderabad office real estate market has shot up exponentially in the last 5 years and so forth.
What caught my attention was, when he said: “Yes, we are planning to expand, it’s difficult to find a good office space but It’s a good problem to have!”. While I was heading home after our meet, that thought stayed in my head for a long time.
Until then, it didn’t occur to me that problems can indeed be good. What a positive way to look at it. Sure he’s going to invest a bit more than he would want to, for the new office, but growing business and expanding workforce to meet demand is a delightful problem to have. Isn’t it?
I quickly brainstormed. What can be some good problems to have?
- Getting into a project which deals with tech stack that you are not familiar with yet
- Your boss wants you to present the new product at the local meetup
- Your fitness watch is reminding you that you are not completing daily targets
In all the above scenarios, I realised that the actual question we should ask ourselves is: Imagine how you are going to be when you come out of that difficult/unknown situation. Don’t you see a better version of yourself? There lies the answer to why it’s nice to have a good problems too!
PS: It’s important to acknowledge that not all problems are good. There are definitely bad ones that can cause real hardship, like health issues or financial struggles. However, my overall point is about: embracing the ones that push you to grow, see them as stepping stones towards a better “you”