Member-only story
If You’re Stuck, Start Over
Be someone who cares about getting it right more than being right.
When I was 15, my parents sent me to a rigorous maths school in Moscow.
We had 14 hours of math lessons per week. In fact, we had four different types of math (calculus, geometry, algebra, and a course called “special math” where we solved complex logical problems). And because this was Moscow, the teachers treated us like shit and often told me I would end up to nothing.
I hated it.
But one thing this three-year army-like experience did teach me was that every problem has a solution.
When one of us was stuck with a geometry task, the teacher would tell us, “Take a larger piece of paper and start over. If you can’t find paper, use the whiteboard. But start from scratch.”
I now use this in life, too.
When I am coming up with ideas — for myself or others — and see that it’s not going anywhere, starting from scratch, or taking a bigger piece of paper, to see the problem from a larger zoom, always helps.
Yet, we, humans, have a thing about starting over. We hate it.
We hate it so much, we’d rather be stuck in a soul-crushing job. Or keep waiting for the bus that hasn’t arrived on time…
