The Answer to Every Problem

I’m pretty sure the best answer to every problem can be encapsulated in one simple dictum. You can use this dictum to meet all your problems, regardless of what they are, and create the best possible outcomes. You’re not going to like it. It has different forms, but here’s one: Do what has to be done, when it has to be done, and do it that way every time. This is truly infuriating advice. The mind sputters and objects. Objection 1: This doesn’t tell me anything! How do I know what has to be done? That’s the whole problem. It’s really not the problem. Almost always you know what has to be done. Just ask yourself what a wiser person would do, and notice that (a) you usually know, and (b) you are trying to not do that. And that’s the real problem. The unwise part of the mind always hopes that this time, and every time, you can do something easier (and worse) than what really has to be done. This unwise part wants you to make the phone call later, not now, which you know amounts to…