The Art of Upgrading Your Problems

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I just had my best week ever as an entrepreneur.

I also just had my worst week ever as an entrepreneur.

This rollercoaster of an experience has revealed to me a truth that goes deeper than I expected:

Problems never go away. They just get better over time.

And the approach you take toward this truth might just determine the quality of your experience on this planet.

Allow me to explain…

The Evolution of Problem-Solving

For context, my online writing business picked up some heavy momentum over the past week:

• I signed several new ghostwriting clients.

• I experienced ungodly surges of dopamine as my most viral Twitter thread ever blew up my phone.

• I’m making more money and growing my audience faster than ever before.

But as this was happening, I descended into feeling the most burnt out I’d ever been since I started writing online.

Why?

Well, going viral translated to me taking 5-6 sales calls every day that week. Signing more clients means more work, more deadlines, and more moving parts. Countless people bombarded my DMs asking me to hop on podcasts, calls, and all sorts of other questions.

Oh yeah, and the platform I use to run my entire business got banned by Twitter for several days — throwing me and the rest of the ghostwriting industry into chaos as we had to quickly scramble and migrate all our content to new scheduling platforms.

An absolute nightmare.

All of these notifications, deadlines, and people pulling my attention in every which way cumulated in me struggling to get out of bed on Saturday.

I felt flat-out drained.

But now, I’m laughing at myself.

If you would’ve told the past version of me about the week I’d just had, I would’ve been ecstatic.

Just a couple of months ago, I was hustling to sign my first client and start making more serious internet income.

I remember thinking, “If I could just sign some high-ticket clients, I’d be the happiest man alive.”

Well, I surpassed that goal. I solved that problem.

But instead of being the happiest man alive, I couldn’t even get out of bed.

Instead of appreciating what I’d accomplished, my mind immediately raced toward the next goal. The next problem to solve…

“If I could just figure out the right systems and schedule to manage my time more efficiently, I’d be the happiest man alive.”

Pause.

This is where things get dangerous.

We’ve all heard of the hedonic treadmill — the phenomenon in psychology that states:

“Humans quickly adapt to positive changes in life, resulting in a constant need for more to maintain the same level of happiness.”

I’m sure you relate. “If I could just get that car, that house, a beautiful wife, a better career, etc.”

The list is endless. Literally.

As in once we do achieve what we desire, we immediately look to the next thing. Over and over. Endlessly. Until we die.

Unfortunately for us, it’s a fundamental flaw built into human psychology.

An inescapable reality you must accept.

So it’d be ridiculous for me to suggest that you shouldn’t desire the next thing. That would be impossible, as it would go against our nature.

The truth is, there’ll always be more problems to solve. More challenges. More desires.

What I experienced this past week is a prime example.

I solved the lead flow and cash flow puzzle I was originally working on.

And right after, I instantly started stressing about the next puzzle — time management and systematization.

I got helplessly trapped on the hedonic treadmill.

But as I type this out, I’ve unlocked a beautiful realization: I replaced my previous problem with a better problem. And this upgraded problem will force me to:

• Learn new skills

• Expand my comfort zone

• Improve as an entrepreneur

As you self-improve, so do the quality of your problems.

This in and of itself is cause for celebration.

Because the progression of problems is a sign of self-evolution. It means you’re doing the right things.

It’s also the ultimate forcing function for making you a better person.

The cycle looks like this:

1. Solve one challenge

2. Replace it with a better one

3. Learn better skills

4. Solve the better challenge

And so on and so forth.

As you can see, problems are unavoidable. Whether it’s about your finances, health, relationships, or spirituality, there will always be room for improvement in your life.

The key to stepping off the treadmill is to express gratitude for the improving nature of your problems.

This gratitude, or awareness, gives you perspective.

It reminds you that the achievement won’t magically make you happy. And it’s enough to make you enjoy the process of problem-solving itself.

And lucky for us, problem-solving is an essential part of human nature.

For example, you experience hunger on a daily basis. If you don’t solve it, you will die. This is a problem.

You solve this problem by eating. But you don’t say, “I wish I could just fast forward to having a full stomach.” No. Instead, you look forward to savoring every juicy bite of that divine cut of steak. You soak up the smoky aromas, the deep conversations with your friends, and the perfect pairing of wine. You enjoy the present moment, the dinner atmosphere, and you think to yourself — “This is what life’s all about.” You find fulfillment in the process of solving the problem of hunger — the means, not the end.

Why should solving any of your other problems be any different?

Matt’s Discoveries

The Great Online Game by Packy McCormack is one of the greatest blog posts ever about social media. It should be required reading for anyone who wants to start creating online.

I bought a brain.fm subscription this week. Their science-backed focus music has been a tremendous help to my productivity.

This short clip of Ray Dalio provides an excellent explanation for the future implications of ChatGPT and AI in general.

Thanks for reading.

Go have yourself a killer week.

Matt Mic

P.S. For those of you who want to take this full-time creator thing seriously…

I use Tweet Hunter to schedule all of my tweets and threads in advance. I love this tool. It’s the main hub of my Twitter workflow.

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