I had a course in grad school where the clock in the classroom ran a few minutes fast. The professor would awkwardly wait until the clock indicated a few minutes past the hour to start, and was always a bit confused as to when class ended. One day I got the bright idea that I could just stand on my chair, take the clock down, and adjust the time. After I did so a woman in the front row turned around and asked incredulously, “Did you just change the time on the clock?” as if I lacked the authority to take such a brazen action. “Yes, yes I did.” was my reply.

I use that story to remind myself that I can often fix problems myself with a little bit of initiative, and that you don’t always need permission to make a positive improvement.