The phrase “problem solving” often carries with it a lofty connotation. Maybe you think of solving the world’s problems, or coming up with a solution in the form of a new invention or innovation. Something grand and ground-breaking.

But often, solving problems means that there’s something threatening the rhythm, something that’s challenging your ability to run your business, household, or project in the regular way you’ve been accustomed to running it.

Solving these kinds of problems feels tedious and mundane. It feels like the time you’re spending trying to restore the former equilibrium —  ‘normal’, we could call it — is time you’re not spending doing the tasks and projects that are actually important.

But often, solving these problems is the important work.

Think about caring for a house. If the roof starts leaking in one spot, it won’t immediately compromise the ability of the house to fulfill its purpose of providing shelter. But if you neglect to fix the leak, over time, the problem will grow. It will affect more parts of the house (and more people who live in the house.) It will take away from the overall value of the house.

Fixing the leak may be expensive. It will take away from the other tasks and responsibilities you have, pursuits which are important to your life and purpose. But someone in the household needs to deal with the leak.

Solving problems doesn’t necessarily require special skills. It does require the character to step up and say “I’ll take care of this.” And then it requires the persistence to follow through and keep on it until the problem is solved.

Often you won’t be able to solve the problem yourself. You’ll need to reach out and ask for help, or secure extra resources. But that’s part of solving the problem. Someone needs to coordinate the project of solving the problem. Will it be you?