Marie Forleo on Growth & Change

To call something figureoutable is to approach it as a problem that may contain a next move, even when the full solution is invisible. The mindset shifts attention from “Can this be done?” toward “What can I learn, try, request, or change?” Curiosity replaces the finality of helplessness.

The word “everything” needs compassion. Death, illness, injustice, and irreversible loss cannot always be solved. Some realities must be grieved, accepted, or carried. What may remain figureoutable is how we respond, where support can be found, and what meaning or care is still possible.

This approach does not require solitary self-sufficiency. Figuring something out can mean finding the person who knows, borrowing a tool, admitting confusion, or choosing not to pursue the original plan. Resourcefulness includes relationship.

The phrase is valuable because it keeps uncertainty open. “I don’t know how” becomes a description of the present rather than a prophecy about the future. A workable answer may emerge through research, experimentation, conversation, or repeated revision. We do not need the entire map to begin looking for the next useful clue.

Overwhelm often compresses a complex problem into one impossible object. Breaking it into questions restores movement. What is actually required? What is assumed? What has already been tried? Who has solved a related problem?

This matters because resourcefulness grows through small experiments. Each attempt produces information and often reduces fear by replacing imagined difficulty with a specific obstacle. Even a failed test narrows the search.

The mantra should not become pressure to fix everything alone. A mature version includes limits, rest, and help. The goal is not invincibility; it is trust that uncertainty can be met with curiosity and that some meaningful response is usually available, even when the original situation cannot be changed.