Sotos’ Perspective Shift
- Mar 4
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 29
Part of Sotos’s Ideas & Opportunities: Spotting Opportunities story arc
Sotos had noticed the problem yesterday.
That part was easy.
What wasn’t easy was the feeling that had followed him into today - the sense that the problem wasn’t as clear as he’d first thought.
He sat on the bench outside The Spark, new notebook open on his knees, pen hovering above the page. At the top, the problem was written out in block letters, circled and underlined like it was trying to prove something.
“It’s still annoying,” he said. “Like… really annoying.”
He stared at the words.
“But now I’m not sure I understand it properly.”
Jola shuffled closer, her bracelets clicking softly as she leaned in.
“Annoying for who?” she asked.
Sotos blinked. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” she said, tilting her head, “you keep saying it’s annoying. But who does it actually bother?”
Sotos opened his mouth. Closed it again.
“Well… me,” he said, less confident than he expected.
Jola smiled, but she didn’t stop there.
“And does it feel annoying in the same way for everyone?”
Sotos looked down at the page. The problem suddenly felt smaller - and bigger - at the same time.
“I… don’t know,” he admitted.
“You’re thinking too hard about it.”
Kit pushed himself off the railings, one earbud still in place, tablet tucked neatly under his arm.
“If loads of people complain about something, that’s how you know it matters,” he said. “That’s how opportunities work. Popular means important.”
He tapped his screen confidently.
“Why slow it down? If enough people are frustrated, you’ve got your answer.”
Sotos felt the familiar rush - the urge to move fast, to jump straight to doing.
“Yeah,” he said. “If loads of people feel it-”
“Exactly,” Kit said. “That’s all you need.”
Jola went quiet.
“But it doesn’t always feel the same,” Jola said softly.
They both turned to her.
“When something like this happens to me, it’s not just annoying,” she continued. “It can feel scary. Or embarrassing. Especially if I don’t know what to do next.”
Sotos lowered his pen to the page.
“Okay,” he muttered, writing. “Annoying for me.”
“And stressful for someone else,” Jola added. “Or lonely.”
Sotos began listing people down the side of the page. Younger kids. Older ones. People who were confident. People who weren’t.
“So it’s the same problem,” he said slowly, “but it affects people differently.”
Kit exhaled. “You can’t make everyone happy.”
“I’m not trying to,” Sotos said. “I’m just trying to understand who it actually affects - and why.”
And for the first time, he didn’t feel rushed.
Archie, who’d been listening quietly, finally spoke.
“That bit you’re doing now?” he said. “That’s the important part.”
Sotos looked up.
“Most people jump straight from spotting a problem to trying to fix it,” Archie said. “They skip understanding. They skip context.”
Nearby, Rudy the squirrel paused with an acorn in his paws. He looked around, then carefully buried it instead of darting off.
Archie nodded toward him. “Rushing doesn’t usually help. Understanding does.”
Sotos smiled. “Yeah. I think I see that now.”
Sotos crossed out the sentence at the top of his page.
Instead, he rewrote it - softer this time. Less certain.
“It’s not just ‘what’s the problem?’” he said.
“It’s more like… ‘who experiences this problem differently - and why?’”
He leaned back, breathing out.
“I don’t think I’m ready to act on anything yet.”
“Good,” Archie said.
Kit shrugged, unconvinced but quiet.
Jola beamed.
Sotos looked at the page one last time, then at the group.
“Okay,” he said. “One more question.”
He paused.
“Who usually deals with problems like this?”
Previously: Sotos’ Hidden Opportunity
Key Takeaways
Spotting a problem is just the first step
Understanding who a problem affects matters as much as what it is
Different perspectives reveal hidden challenges
You don’t need to act straight away to make progress
Reflection
Think about a small frustration you’ve noticed recently.
Who does it affect?
Does it affect everyone in the same way?
How might someone else feel about it differently from you?
You don’t need a solution - just better questions.
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