Do you remember the last time you were lost—literally or figuratively? What was the problem? What question did you ask yourself in order to find a solution? One of my favorite comedians, Mitch Hedberg, told the following joke:

If you find yourself lost in the woods, fuck it, build a house. “Well, I was lost but now I live here! I have severely improved my predicament!”

Good joke? I think so. Clever allegory for problem-solving? Absolutely. In three sentences, Hedberg demonstrates how framing a problem correctly can lead to success.

How would one of mankind’s greatest problem-solvers approach a precarious situation? Oddly, Albert Einstein spoke about a hypothetical scenario similar to the one in this joke. He said that if he had an hour to solve a problem that his life depended on, he’d spend the first fifty-five minutes determining the proper question to ask. Once he identified the proper question, he felt confident that he could solve the problem within minutes. Einstein believed that in order to find a valuable answer, you need to ask the right question. So, what question is Hedberg alluding to?

If you’re like me, the joke becomes funny when he unexpectedly shifts the frame of the problem. Instead of, “How can I get home?” he ponders, “How can I be home?” By reframing the issue, Hedberg’s witty recommendation to “build a house” becomes a possible solution. If you build a house in the woods and make it your home, haven’t you found a solution for being lost? If you were lost in the woods but now you live there, haven’t you severely improved your predicament? Of course, building a house isn’t as easy as it sounds—but that’s not the point. The point is that framing a problem incorrectly can eliminate possible solutions. Building a house isn’t an option unless you make it one.

Unless you consciously decide how to view the world, your perspective is merely reflexive. When you allow impulses to dominate your worldview, you rob yourself of opportunity. You limit your options before you even make a decision. Next time you need to overcome a challenge, find ways to shift your point of view. Use your imagination to attack the problem from different angles. Experiment with what-if scenarios. When freeing your mind, there’s no cost for thinking too creatively. “What if I build a house?” “What if I built a jetpack?” “What if this is all a dream?” Push past the edge of possibility and worry about reigning it back in later. Don’t settle for your initial framing. If you do, you might remain “lost in the woods” forever.