When You Can’t Change the Problem, Change Yourself
- Feb 4
- 5 min read
Beth Rohani leads the No. 1 moving company serving the Houston Multi-Family Industry, and her company is considered one of the Top 3 Best Rated Moving Companies in Houston. As a first-generation Iranian-American, former TV news assignments editor and CEO of a transportation and logistics-based business in a male-dominated industry.
A year ago, I found myself right in the middle of this truth. My team and I were stuck. We had been tackling the same operational challenge for weeks, and no matter how hard we pushed, the problem wasn’t budging. We tried the "push harder" approach, more meetings, more resources, more effort directed at the source of the friction. I was frustrated. I was tired. And if I’m honest, I was ready to throw in the towel on the whole thing. The emotional exhaustion was real.
But then Maya Angelou’s words found me at exactly the right time. I realized that I’d been exhausting myself by trying to break down a brick wall that simply wasn’t going to move. What I needed wasn’t more force, it was a crucial shift in perspective. I was trying to solve a system problem with only brute-force effort.
So, I stopped trying to go through the wall. I walked around it.
"If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude." – Maya Angelou
The trap of fixed thinking in problem-solving leadership
In business and in life, it’s incredibly easy to get locked into fixed thinking. We become attached to the idea of how the solution should look, and when our initial approach fails, we assume the solution is simply to repeat the attempt with higher intensity. This is the definition of grinding, and it leads to burnout, not breakthroughs.
As the CEO of a moving company, I’ve seen this happen countless times. A logistical problem, say, a specific delivery route that keeps causing delays, can’t be fixed by simply yelling at the dispatcher to try harder. The problem isn’t the effort; the problem is the route, the truck size, or the time of day. The problem is the system.
My experience with that operational wall was similar. I was fixated on maintaining the old process while forcing a new result. My frustration was proof that my approach was flawed. The biggest block wasn't the external challenge; it was my internal resistance to changing my own strategy. I was letting my ego demand that my first idea be the right one.
A new strategy, a bigger outcome
Instead of continuing the same frustrating approach, I gave myself and my leadership team time and space to step back. We stopped holding meetings focused on assigning blame or forcing the old method to work. We shifted our focus entirely: What if we accepted this wall existed and treated the situation as a brand-new scenario?
I mapped things out, became intentional, and started looking for solutions that weren’t just about patching the immediate surface problem but about creating something better and more lasting. We didn't just fix the one issue; we redesigned the entire operational flow surrounding it.
A month later, we launched a new strategy. And here’s the beautiful part: it didn’t just solve the surface issue. It dramatically improved the way we worked as a whole. It reduced stress, created more value for the team by making their jobs more efficient, and, in turn, elevated the service quality for the people we serve. We turned a major liability into a competitive asset.
That shift reminded me of something I’ve learned time and again as a business owner, a leader, and honestly, as a human: sometimes the solution isn’t about the problem at all. It’s about us. It’s about the mindset we choose to bring to the challenge.
The leadership lesson in the pivot
In leadership, there’s a strong temptation to believe we have to always push harder, always know the answer, always get it right on the first try. But the truth is, leadership isn’t about bulldozing problems. It’s about evolving yourself, being willing to think differently, to pause, and to adjust your approach based on reality, not ego.
It’s about asking the tough, self-reflective questions:
What is this challenge teaching me about myself? (Am I impatient? Am I relying too much on old assumptions?)
Where do I need to grow in order to move forward? (Do I need new information? A new system?)
Am I reacting emotionally, or am I responding with clarity and intention?
When we allow ourselves to shift our perspective, we not only solve problems more effectively, but we also grow as leaders, teammates, and people. You are essentially transforming a liability into a character-building opportunity.
Moving forward with intention
At Ameritex Movers, we use a phrase I love: stress-free moves. On the surface, it’s about making moving easier for our clients. But at its core, it’s about helping people navigate big, stressful transitions in life without letting that stress control the entire process. It’s about teaching them to trust the system we provide so they can manage their own attitude about the unavoidable chaos of moving day.
The truth is, life is a constant series of transitions, some chosen, some unexpected. You can’t always change what happens to you. But you can always decide how you’ll respond, how you’ll reframe the situation, and how you’ll move forward.
That’s what this experience taught me. By changing my attitude instead of forcing the outcome, I gained clarity, peace, and ultimately, better results. The energy I saved by quitting the brute-force approach was the energy I needed to find the real, lasting solution.
We can’t control everything, not in business, not in life. But we can control the energy we bring, the perspective we hold, and the attitude we choose.
So, the next time you face a challenge that seems immovable, remember that powerful choice: If you can change the situation, change it. If you can’t, change yourself. That’s where true leadership begins.
For similar content, consider following me on any of my social media platforms:
Beth Rohani, Entrepreneur
Beth Rohani leads the No. 1 moving company serving the Houston Multi-Family Industry, and her company is considered one of the Top 3 Best Rated Moving Companies in Houston. As a first-generation Iranian-American, former TV news assignments editor, and CEO of a transportation and logistics-based business in a male-dominated industry, Beth embraces the stereotypes while inspiring and mentoring others to build a successful business with a balance to live their best life.
