Stage 2: Life Context | Problem Statement

The previous section helped you identify where your life is aligned with who you are and where it isn't. You mapped the gaps between your values and your reality, your strengths and your work, your energy and your commitments.

Now it's time to turn those observations into a clear design challenge. This is often harder than it sounds.

Most people know when something feels off. They feel restless, frustrated, stuck, or pulled towards change. But when someone asks what the problem actually is, the answer becomes blurry.

"I don't know. I just feel stuck."

"I want something different, but I can't explain what."

"I'm doing fine on paper, but something isn't working."

The problem isn't a lack of self-awareness but a lack of definition. You can't act on a feeling you can't name. You can't solve a problem you haven't defined. And you can't redesign your life if you're unclear about what needs to change.

This section takes everything you've uncovered so far and compresses it into a single design brief. You'll move from a collection of observations, frustrations, and insights to a clear statement of the challenge you're actually trying to solve.

In design thinking, this is called the Define phase. Before designers generate solutions, they make sure they're solving the right problem. We'll do the same, and we’re going to use five lenses to understand why defining the problem matters before we try to solve it.

-THE RESEARCH

Design thinking and the POV statement

The Stanford d.school's design thinking framework places the Define phase between Empathise and Ideate. The purpose of Define is to synthesise observations from the Empathise phase into a clear problem statement that guides ideation. Without it, teams generate solutions to the wrong problems.

The d.school teaches two core tools in Define. The first is the POV statement, which follows the structure: [User] needs [need] because [insight]. The "because" clause is where the real work lives. It forces us to articulate why the need exists, not just what it is. The second tool is the "How Might We" (HMW) question, which reframes the problem as a design opportunity.

For example, "How might we help a busy parent find time for creative work?" is a better starting point for brainstorming than "The parent doesn't have enough time."

Bill Burnett and Dave Evans adapted this framework for life design in their 2016 book "Designing Your Life". Their approach treats life problems the same way a designer treats product problems: you define the challenge clearly, then generate multiple possible solutions, then prototype and test them. The quality of our solutions depends entirely on the quality of our problem definition.

How problem framing shapes solutions

Cognitive research on problem construction shows that the way we frame a problem determines which solutions become visible to us. Stellan Ohlsson's work on insight and problem-solving demonstrated that people get stuck on problems not because they lack ability, but because they have framed the problem in a way that excludes the solution from their search space.

If we define our problem as "I need to earn more money," our solutions will all be financial (get a raise, find a side job, cut expenses). But if we reframe it as "I need more freedom in how I spend my time," entirely different solutions appear (e.g., renegotiate our schedule, reduce fixed obligations, redefine what "enough" means). Same underlying dissatisfaction, but different frame and different possibilities.

Mental contrasting: the WOOP framework

Gabriele Oettingen spent 20 years studying how people pursue goals. Her research produced a consistent finding: positive thinking alone doesn't work. People who only fantasise about their desired future are less likely to achieve it than people who also confront the obstacles standing in the way.

Oettingen developed mental contrasting, a technique where you vividly imagine your desired outcome and then immediately identify the inner obstacles that could prevent you from reaching it. She later packaged this into the WOOP framework: Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan. Her studies, published in journals including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, showed that mental contrasting increased goal commitment, effort, and achievement across domains ranging from academic performance to health behaviour to career decisions.

The problem statement exercise in this section uses the same logic: you name where you want to be, where you are, and sit with the gap between them. The gap is the problem, and the problem is the design challenge.

Goal specificity and achievement

Edwin Locke and Gary Latham's goal-setting theory, developed across more than 400 studies spanning 4 decades, is one of the most replicated findings in organisational psychology. Their core finding: specific, difficult goals produce higher performance than vague goals ("do your best") or no goals at all.

The mechanism is straightforward. Specific goals direct attention, increase effort, promote persistence, and encourage strategy development. Vague goals do none of these things. "I want to be happier" gives your brain nothing to work with. "I want to spend 3 hours a week on creative work that uses my top strengths" gives it a target.

Your problem statement serves the same function. It takes the vague sense that something needs to change and sharpens it into a specific challenge your brain can actually engage with.

Life problems as wicked problems

Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber introduced the concept of "wicked problems" to describe challenges that resist simple definition and have no single correct solution. Life design challenges share many properties with wicked problems: they are unique to the individual, they evolve as you work on them, every attempted solution changes the problem itself, and there is no clear stopping rule (no moment where the problem is definitively "solved").

This is why a traditional goal-setting approach often fails for life design. Goals assume you know what the target is. Wicked problems require you to define the target as part of the process. Your problem statement is a working hypothesis about what needs to change, and it'll refine itself as you move into the design and prototyping phases that follow.

Across these frameworks, the pattern is consistent: better definition leads to better options. We now turn this into a working process.

-THE EXERCISES

This section builds on everything you've done so far. Keep your Alignment results, Wheel of Life scores, and Life Roles audit nearby - you'll need them.

Part 1: Current life context snapshot

Before you can define the problem, you need an honest snapshot of the conditions you're working within right now. These are the facts of your current life (specific and factual), not judgments about them.

• Work/career/purpose

• Finances (income, savings, debt, runway)

• Living situation (where and with whom)

• Relationships/love

• Family obligations and dynamics

• Health and body

• Time (how much is yours, how much belongs to others)

• Emotional state

• Creative life/personal projects

• Social life/community

Part 2: Draft your "How Might I" statements

Look back at your Alignment Snapshot and your biggest gaps from the previous section. You already know where your life is most out of alignment. The goal now is to turn those observations into design challenges.

A good design challenge sits between two realities:

• Something you genuinely want.

• A real constraint that makes it difficult.

The format is: How might I [desired change] given [real constraint]?

Examples:

• "How might I build a creative practice into my week, given that I work full-time and have two children?"

• "How might I earn enough to feel financially safe without staying in a job that contradicts my values?"

Using your biggest gaps and your current life context, write 3-4 "How Might I" questions. As you write them, avoid solution language. Focus on the challenge itself.

Part 3: Select your primary challenge

You now have several possible design challenges.

Some may sound equally important, but one usually carries more weight than the others. It's the challenge that, if you made meaningful progress on it, would create the biggest positive ripple effect across the rest of your life.

Review your "How Might I" questions and choose one to focus on. Remember: you're choosing where to focus first, not choosing forever.

If you can't choose, use these filters:

• Which challenge costs you the most energy right now? (Look at your Energy Audit)

• Which challenge, if resolved, would make the other challenge easier? (Some problems are upstream of others.)

• Which challenge are you most ready to face? (Readiness counts. Forcing yourself to tackle something you're not prepared for usually produces more resistance, not progress.)

• Which challenge do you actually want to solve, versus which one do you think you should solve? (Go with want. "Should" is often someone else's voice.)

Your primary challenge:

How might I _______________________________________

given that ________________________________________?

Part 4: Write your Point of View (POV) statement (why this matters)

Using your primary challenge, write your POV statement in the format below. This will help you see the problem clearly, so you could later create a problem statement that you can actually act on.

[Person] needs [need] because [insight].

I need ___________________________

because _________________________

Examples:

• I need more opportunities for creative expression because creativity isn't a hobby for me - it's one of the main ways I process ideas and feel energised.

• I need more autonomy in my work because my motivation drops significantly when I feel controlled or disconnected from decision-making.

Part 5: Write your problem statement (your working brief)

Use the template below to write a clear, specific problem statement.

There is no perfect problem statement. The goal isn't to identify the one true challenge of your life. The goal is to identify the challenge that feels most important and most useful to work on right now.

• I am...
  Describe who you are: your key personality traits, values, and strengths from Stage 1.

• I need...
  What is the specific change or condition you need in your life?

• Because...
  Why does this need exist? What insight from your self-discovery explains it?

• But...
  What is the real obstacle? What's in the way?

• So my design challenge is...
  Restate as a How Might I question

Example:
"I am someone who values creativity, freedom, and growth. My strengths are writing, learning, and connecting ideas.

I need more opportunities to use those strengths in my work.

Because I've spent years optimising for security and competence rather than fulfilment.

But I have financial commitments and no clear transition plan.

So my design challenge is: How might I create more meaningful work while maintaining financial stability?"

Part 6: Reflection

• Does your problem statement feel true when you read it out loud? Or does it feel like you're performing for someone?

• Are you solving the problem you actually have, or the problem you think you should have?

• On a scale of 1 to 10, how ready do you feel to start working on this challenge? If below 6, what would need to happen first?

• If you made meaningful progress on this challenge, what would be different in your life?

• What's the smallest sign that you're moving in the right direction? (will be useful in stage 3)

Part 7: AI companion (optional)

How to use: Share your Stage 1 core identity snapshot, your current life context snapshot, your primary challenge, and your draft problem statement with the AI. Let it ask you questions to sharpen your thinking. The conversation usually takes 20 to 30 minutes. The AI is good at catching vague language and pushing you toward specificity.

Copy and paste the prompt below into Claude, ChatGPT, or any AI assistant alongside your identity and current life context snapshots, primary challenge, and draft problem statement:

You are a life design coach helping me pressure-test and refine my problem statement.

I have already completed a self-discovery process, identified my biggest areas of misalignment, and selected a primary challenge to work on.

I am going to share:

• My core identity snapshot

• My current life context snapshot

• My primary challenge

• My draft problem statement

Your job is to:

(1) Help me determine whether I'm solving the right problem.

(2) Identify any assumptions I'm making that may not be true.

(3) Tell me if my problem statement is too vague, too broad, or too focused on symptoms rather than root causes.

(4) Help me make the challenge more specific and actionable.

(5) Challenge any "shoulds", inherited expectations, or external pressures that appear in my thinking.

(6) Help me write the final problem statement so it is clear, specific, and grounded in who I am. It should capture who I am, what needs to change, why it matters, what's in the way, and what I'm ready to take on.

Ask one question at a time. Do not jump to solutions. Focus on helping me define the problem as clearly as possible before we explore possible paths forward.

My core identity snapshot: [INSERT HERE]

My current life context snapshot: [INSERT HERE]

My primary challenge: [INSERT HERE]

My draft problem statement: [INSERT HERE]

Part 8: Write your final problem statement snapshot

In a paragraph, capture the essence of where you are, what needs to change, and what you're ready to take on. This becomes the final artefact of Stage 2, and the brief for Stage 3.