There Is No Easy Fix, … Until There Is
The Danger of Attaching to (and Missing) the Silver Bullet
"Diplomacy never, never works, until it does." That line from the Netflix show "The Diplomat" struck a chord for me. It highlights a simple, paradoxical truth:
There's no silver bullet solution… until there is. And even then, it might not work again.
Consider the “Cobra Problem” from India. The story goes:
British-ruled Delhi had too many cobras.
The government steps in, resolves to pay for dead cobras, to curb the problem.
The cobra population shrinks as people bring dead cobras for payment.
People start breeding cobras for profit, bringing the cobra population back.
The government halts the program, to stop the cobra breeding.
The program ends, and people release the bred cobras, thus worsening the original problem.
Solutions are not independent entities; they are interwoven within a complex web of unintended consequences.
We face similar issues personally. We seek career fulfillment, passion projects, and well-being. We set goals, systems, to achieve what we desire. Some work some of the time, others don’t work at all.
Truth is: there's no single fix.
The wellness industry sells solutions. As a coach, I see these as tools. They might work sometimes, but not always. Believing otherwise sets us up for failure.
Use a tool as needed, not as a rigid rule, or blanket solution. Discernment is key. Knowing when to apply a tool is more crucial than knowing how to use it. To increase discernment is to practice self-reflection enough to be dangerous.
C.S. Lewis said, "If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn." Progress isn't always forward; sometimes, it's a strategic retreat. The sooner you turnaround, the nearer you are to the right path.
So, in simple terms, there is an over-abundance of tools and solutions, choose wisely, reflect clearly, adjust accordingly.
The Cobra Problem highlights the inherent unpredictability of complex systems, whether societal or personal. Success, when it occurs, is often a temporary alignment of factors, not a guaranteed outcome.
Here are three tools for your discernment toolkit:
MTO Goal Setting: Goal-setting is a tool. The goal of any tool is success at any aim you’re approaching. So, design your goals to maximize success. Set Minimum, Target, and Outrageous goals. (For a writer, these goals might be 100, 750, and 2,000 words a day.) (Link)
Mindful Glimpses: Loch Kelly's accessible meditation for busy lives. Calm, clear awareness without requiring intense concentration. (Link)
Fall in Love with Doing: Writer Ayodeji Awosika wrote this and it stuck with me. “Fall in love with doing instead of the idea of doing.” It’s something I’ve confronted in myself this past year – a story I will be sharing in the coming weeks. Passion for the idea — of a bold aspiration of any kind — often eclipses the necessity of consistent action. So get to it.
Photo by Dmitriy Demidov on Unsplash