Problems and Challenges | David Mitchell's Soapbox

David Mitchell explains the difference between problems and challenges.

ABOUT DAVID MITCHELL'S SOAPBOX:
David Mitchell, star of UK TV favourites Peep Show and That Mitchell and Webb Look, brings us his unique perspective on the issues facing men of the world today.

[AithlynC]

"It's not a crossword puzzle, it's a leopard" is one of the more brilliant lines I've heard of late.

[joshuagrahamcrackers]

I find this works the opposite for me. If someone comes up to me and tells me something is a challenge I don't feel particularly motivated to deal with it, but if they say it's a problem? Well then I'd better get that taken care of. A Rubik's cube is a challenge (for the purposes of this example, I don't care how quickly and effortlessly you can do them). Falling behind on dinner service is a problem. When you solve a challenge, what have you done? You've done something mildly impressive that warrants a slight pursing of the lips and a "well how about that." When you solve a problem though you've stopped something that was negatively affecting the people around you thus making their lives, or at least a small fraction thereof, better. Which of those options is more exciting? Which one feels more worthwhile to work on?

[justin]

I want David Mitchell to give that speech at my funeral.

[Wububub]

I personally feel that a challenge is something that is presented to you, which you can either complete for a "reward" or ignore and give up on, with no negative consequences.
Whereas a problem is something you encounter that you MUST deal with in order to continue forward, because if you give up you'll be drenched in an avalanche of shit.

[KairuHakubi]

i think i've heard somewhere that positivity and self-esteem actually don't motivate you to solve anything, like everyone thinks. Motivation comes from actually needing a solution.. but then motivation doesn't impart skill... and depression is a really bad motivator

[JW]

hes dangling above sharks in a cage and he dont even give a fk he badass

[agiar]

I sincerely sympathize. I was laid off in May 2010, and from then until January 2012, I had perhaps a total of 4 or 5 total weeks of work, spread out as odd temp jobs waiting tables, stuffing envelopes, even handling household hazardous waste. I had a Master's degree. I have been at my current job for almost 10 months, now, and I am very grateful. Unemployment can be terribly disheartening, but keep up the search. Sometimes, as it did for me, salvation can just seem to come out of nowhere.

[RC-finn]

This one becomes more and more relevant as the years go by.

[grantkohler]

Is there anyway to get in touch with Daron Smiley? I just want to wish him the best in overcoming his future challenges.

[Harrylechat]

Have just discovered that watching with the subtitles adds a whole new level of humour (or as the subtitlist might put it "a hole newt evil off your ma")

[ScabeiathraxUK]

Thank you. I am glad that some people see it my way. I'm not sure why so many seem to think that all disagreement is bad, and that choosing to disagree somehow reflects badly on the person.

People like Choongification want everyone to say meaningless things, or be quiet. What kind of a world we'd live in, if that really did happen... it's not exactly Utopian.

[stephenbenner]

My mom listened to Charles R. “Chuck” Swindall on the radio when I was a kid. He was a preacher.

[johnabernethy]

Here in the U.S., managers like to say that "In Chinese 'crisis' and 'opportunity' are the same word."
I don't know if it's true, and I don't care.
There's nothing wrong with trying to fly when you've already gone off the cliff.
But we don't have to pretend that it's a glorious "opportunity."

[Donarex]

"It's not a crossword puzzle, it's a leopard!" Love it!

[thetooginator]

I suspect replacing the word “problem” with “challenge” is basically a test of how low a person will sink for their job. If a person embraces ridiculous doublespeak like this, you can count on them to do degrading or unethical things with equal enthusiasm.

[fourbabies]

keep it up Mr Mitchell, your rants are entertaining.

[comprehensiveboy]

Couldn't agree more. Happening to me at the moment. There is only so much rejection a person can take when there is generally nothing useless or rubbish about them just a cruelly engineered over supply of labour.

[JaspersCampfire]

According to the internet, a challenge is "a call to someone to participate in a competitive situation or fight to decide who is superior in terms of ability or strength." A problem is "a matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome." When an inspirational speaker calls a problem a challenge, he or she is turning that problem into a challenge. "This thing may be harmful and unwelcome", says the inspirational speaker, "But we are not going to let is overcome us. With ability and strength, we will deal with it." The act of challenging the audience to deal with the problem in fact changes it from a problem into a challenge - which doesn't mean the situation changes, just our perception of it.

[george]

If you look really closely you can just see that the sharks aren't real.

[Gwinnett]

What an interesting point of view. I hate how people sugar coat problems in life, and i feel very much the same in an industry/work setting, but i feel, like David, that many prefer this, not as a mental "bumper" to an otherwise serious, stress producing dilemma, but because people love to complain, and its harder to complain about a problem when you are forced to understand that you might actually lose your job over it the next day.