In rock climbing, short powerful routes on boulders are called problems. And routes that we work for long periods of time we call projects.

I love solving problems, I think we all do. We like the challenge, we want to feel like we are working toward a goal, and it’s fun to take on something new and different.

What’s special about a climbing project is that no one tells you to do it — you go and find it for yourself. A lot of the time, people feel stalled out in their jobs because they are waiting to be given a project to do or a problem to solve.

But you don’t need someone to direct you. If you see a problem that you want to work on, do it. Even if your project doesn’t take off, you will have learned things that you can take with you. Even if you end the project just knowing yourself and your strengths better, your time will have been well spent.

One reason we don’t do this is because we feel like we need permission. Or that we won’t be compensated for our efforts (in cash, that is). Or that we won’t be praised for our work. These are just a few of the common excuses that we tell ourselves, but really, the list is endless. (Check your own reasons. Is it time, money, help, resources?)

As a Parks worker collecting garbage on a daily basis, I saw that we were sending most of our recyclables to the landfill. That problem became my focus for the better part of five years. I researched the waste and recycling industry and created a business plan demonstrating how a recycling program in the Parks would be financially self-sustaining.

I wasn’t asked to do it, and I wasn’t paid for the hours I spent working on it. In fact, they pushed back — hard. But I kept at it. Why? It was my passion at the time and I believed in it. And the alternative was stagnation. The project never got off the ground, but it did lead to my MBA.

Even if no one else values your work, don’t lose heart or waver. The important thing is that you choose to solve a problem. You take on a project. And you keep growing.

There is one route that I have projected off and on for the past eight years. I always get shut down at the last moves. And each season, I get frustrated and walk away. But it’s still making me a better climber every year that I work it.

Find a project. Tackle a problem that interests you. When you make the choice to take something on simply because it excites you and because you want to do it, that’s true freedom.