For years, no one could untie the famously complex Gordian knot. Then Alexander the Great stepped up to the plate. Legend has it, he found the pin holding the knot to the post and pulled it out. The knot fell apart on its own.

Seth Godin thinks that's what most of us skip. When we’re working on a tough challenge, the instinct is to push harder or throw more at it. To yank on the knot instead of study it. Rarely do we step back and ask what's actually causing the problem, or whether it's even a problem we can solve at all.

That question sits at the center of Seth’s new book, The Knot. Seth is the author of more than 20 bestselling books, including The Dip and This Is Marketing, and the writer behind one of the most widely read blogs in the world. In this episode of Creative Confidence, Mina Seetharaman talks with Seth about the difference between a problem you can solve and a situation you have to accept and how to see the larger system they’re part of. 

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Article Summary

• What If Your Problems Aren't Problems?
• Say the Problem Out Loud
• Every System Wants to Outlast You

What if Your Problems Aren't Problems?

Seth offers a clear distinction between a problem and a solution: "If it's a problem, there's a solution. You might not like the solution, but there is a solution. If it's a situation, there is no solution that you are willing to pay for."

A canceled flight the night before an important meeting isn't a problem. There's no version of tonight where you still make it on time. It's a situation, and the only useful move is to accept it and plan what to do next.

Most of our frustration, Seth argues, comes from getting this backwards: fighting situations we can't change, and walking away from problems we actually could solve, simply because we never took the time to figure out which one we were looking at.

Say the Problem Out Loud

Once you know you're facing a real problem, the next trap is assuming everyone around you is solving the same one. Seth's point: agreeing on the problem is a much higher bar than most teams set for themselves, and skipping it is why so many "solutions" miss.

His example: a writer tells him they want to write a book to help people. Seth asks why not just give the idea away for free as a PDF. The writer admits they actually want to be a New York Times bestselling author. That's a different problem entirely, with a different set of tradeoffs. His provocation: say the thing you really want out loud. It's uncomfortable sometimes, but it's the only way to solve the real problem.

Seth offers three questions to help a team land on the same problem: 

• What's it for? 

• How will we know if we've solved it? 

• What's the change we seek to make?

"If you can get the client to acknowledge your reframing, the solution is obvious,” Seth says of the importance of this step. “The reframing is the hard part."

Every System Wants to Outlast You

Seth describes systems, like a company, a school, or a culture, almost like living things, with their own instincts for status, affiliation, and self-preservation. Systems aren't inherently bad or good.

"Systems are invented by humans to facilitate us getting toward where we are trying to go. But they almost always outlive their usefulness,” Seth notes of how easily systems become entrenched.

When a better path is obviously available and nobody takes it, Seth says that's usually not a people problem. It's a sign a system is protecting itself. He says there are two things you can do: get the system on your side so it starts working for you instead of against you, or build something new outside of it entirely.

Put It Into Practice

• Do the problem test. Next time something's frustrating you, ask: is there a solution I'd be willing to pay for? If not, it's a situation. Stop spending energy on it.

• Ask three questions. Before your team starts solving, get aligned on the problem. Ask: What's it for? How will we know if we've solved it? What's the change we seek to make?

• Look for the root cause. When you're stuck, resist the instinct to throw more into your current efforts. Step back and ask what's driving the problem. You might be pushing hard in the wrong place.

Explore More

Read the book:

Seth Godin’s new book, The Knot, launches on September 22, 2026. 

Take a course:

Human-Centered Systems Thinking — Learn to combine the analytical tools of systems thinking with the creative mindsets of human-centered design to make sense of complex systems challenges.

Related episodes:

What Is Systems Thinking? A Beginner’s Guide to Mindsets, Tools, and Examples by Deirdre Cerminaro

What Is Systems Design? A Beginner’s Guide to Mindsets, Methods & Impact by Melanie Bell-Mayeda

About the Speaker

Seth Godin

Author and Entrepreneur

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Seth Godin is the author of more than 20 international bestsellers, including Purple Cow, Linchpin, and This Is Marketing, and one of the most influential voices on creativity, leadership, and change. He writes one of the most widely read blogs in the world and created the altMBA, a four-week leadership program that ran for nearly a decade. His new book, The Knot, comes out September 22, 2026.