Sedona with Kids: Beat Spring Break Crowds & Find Space
The best part of our Sedona trip wasn’t the hike or the views. It was what happened when we slowed down and let each of us find our own version of it.
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We’ve Admired the Problem Long Enough
I used to play in a cover band.
It was one of those groups where everyone had lived a little. Real careers. Real stories. People who had done things.
Our guitarist stood out.
Before he ever picked up a guitar, he was a Colonel in the Marines. A Harrier pilot.
The kind of guy who drove six inches off the car in front of him at 80 miles per hour like it was completely normal.
He also had a way with words.
Whenever the band got stuck, arguing over a song, overthinking a setlist, circling the same issue for too long, he would quietly step in and say:
“Alright folks, I think we’ve admired the problem long enough.”
And just like that, the conversation changed.
No drama. No lecture. Just a clear signal.
Stop overthinking. Start taking action.
I’ve thought about that phrase a lot over the years.
Because it shows up everywhere.
In business, when sales slow down and we fall into analysis paralysis instead of taking action, like I wrote about in When Sales Stop Coming In: Get Back in the Trenches.
In parenting, when we overanalyze a situation instead of having the conversation.
In life, when something feels unfair and we get stuck overthinking instead of moving forward.
There is a place for reflection.
You need to understand the problem. Sit with it. Learn from it. That is part of personal growth.
But there is a line.
And once you cross it, you are not problem solving anymore.
You are just admiring the problem.
Admiring the problem feels productive.
It sounds thoughtful. Strategic. Even wise.
But most of the time, it is just a more sophisticated form of avoidance.
Because taking action is harder.
Taking action risks failure.
Taking action forces clarity.
And clarity removes the comfort of excuses.
If you have ever felt stuck in that loop, it is similar to what I wrote about in Your Gut Knows the Way, where trusting your instincts helps break the cycle of overthinking and get you moving again.
That Marine pilot understood something simple.
At some point, you have to stop thinking about the problem and start solving it.
Not perfectly.
Not with full certainty.
But with momentum.
So the next time you feel stuck, circling the same issue, replaying the same thoughts, trapped in overthinking, pause and ask yourself:
Have I admired this problem long enough?
And if the answer is yes, take action.
Make the call.
Send the email.
Have the conversation.
Move forward.
It does not have to be the perfect decision.
It just has to be a decision.
“Know what’s enough. Build what matters.”
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