You don't have to *solve* the mountain

A little revelation I had last week about the nature and effects of problem solving...

I'm an engineer. By inclination, education, and experience. I have this tendency to solve problems, come up with widgets that address this or that shortcoming. When something is difficult or inefficient or wasteful, I start thinking that there's a better way of doing it and want to do it right. I think of problems and the need for solutions.

So what's the revelation? There's a difference between a problem and an obstacle. Sometimes in life or in work, there's an obstacle, and sometimes it's a problem, but regardless, it's an impediment to moving forward. The distinction though is that a problem (a design flaw/defect, dependent factor, puzzle) is something that needs to be changed to be able to go forward, where an obstacle (long slow tedious work, sensitive personalities, deadlines, high-cost tooling) is something that really just needs to be gotten past. It doesn't always need to be fixed because once you're past, you might never have to deal with it again, and "fixing it" is a waste of time if it doesn't ever recur.

Just get past it. You can't fix the mountain, and you don't have to. You just have to get over the mountain.