Don't figure it out

When a ship starts to sink, it starts "Listing," which is when it begins taking on water and tilts to one side. Recently, I noticed that one of the tension cables on my garage door was broken, and without that tension, the door began to "list." I was tempted to measure and look up YouTube videos and dive into a convoluted process of figuring it out. But then I noticed a solution to the broken cable: three other cables worked perfectly well. I didn't need to measure. I didn't need to look up the lengths and locations of hooks and springs. All I had to do was look at the other three cables and emulate their positions.

You may have seen the Instagram videos where they take a bolt and a washer and a grinder and a welder and make a specialized tool. But, here's the deal....they make that. They literally already make the tool that the Instagram creator is taking hours to complete.

When you try to figure it all out, you're neglecting the efforts you could direct toward other projects and people. The magic of not figuring it out is that it requires no creativity. The world needs your creativity for what you're supposed to be doing: not garage door tension cables.

Not figuring it out only requires that you find the right search terms. The product is out there; just go buy it. Install it. Move on.

Not figuring it out requires little creativity, less money, and almost no energy.

Not figuring it out requires no workarounds. No extra trips to Home Depot or Lowe’s; Just mindlessly find the part and replace it.

The world needs your creativity for the domains where you're at your best. You "figure it out" at the expense of your best efforts.

Don't figure it out.