This week, I ran into a problem. Actually, I ran into a series of problems, one after the other, like a never-ending game of dominoes. Ever had that happen to you?
It started when I decided to record my audio differently for a special bit in my new video. I couldn’t find my windshield for my mic, but i thought it would be fine because I see YouTubers use these mics without windshields all the time.
Everything seemed fine.
Until afterwards.
Listening back to the audio in my editor, I realized it was clipping – the sound was too loud in places and sounded distorted.
So, I went into problem-solving mode.
- I tried fixing the audio manually in the editor, but that didn’t work.
- I tested AI tools to reconstruct the words, which replaced my words with gibberish and made me sound like an alien!
- I separated the audio from the video, ran it through a convertor to change the file type, then tried fixing it in specialist audio software.
Nothing worked.
Eventually, I decided to make the best of the situation, keep the slightly flawed audio in the video, and use this as a learning experience for next time.
The segments are quite short and in 5 years time, I’ll have forgotten all about it.
At first, this whole process felt frustrating. But then I realized—it’s always like this.
Problems don’t disappear; they evolve. The trick isn’t to avoid them but to get better at dealing with them.
The Infinite Game of Problem-Solving
There’s this idea from Simon Sinek (inspired by James P. Carse) called the infinite game mindset. The idea is that some things in life—like personal growth, creativity, and fulfillment—don’t have a finish line.
You don’t “win” at them; you just keep playing.
When we see problems as something to “fix” once and for all, we set ourselves up for frustration.
The reality is that solving one problem just opens the door to the next. And that’s not failure—that’s progress.
Psychology backs this up. Studies on cognitive flexibility (Diamond, 2013) show that people who can adapt their thinking in response to change tend to be more resilient.
Similarly, emotional agility (Susan David, Ph.D.) highlights how being able to shift your perspective—rather than getting stuck on how things should be—leads to better problem-solving and overall well-being.
The OODA Loop: How to Adapt Quickly
Another useful framework is the OODA Loop, developed by military strategist John Boyd. It stands for Observe → Orient → Decide → Act, and it’s a method for quickly adapting to changing situations.
In my case, the loop looked something like this:
- Observe: Realize the audio is clipped and unusable.
- Orient: Assess my options—manual fixes, AI tools, re-recording (no time to).
- Decide: Choose the best course of action—fix what I can and move forward.
- Act: Implement the solution and adjust my approach for next time.
Instead of getting stuck in frustration, I cycled through this loop multiple times until I landed on a workable solution.
Research on decision-making under uncertainty (Klein, 1999) shows that this kind of iterative thinking helps people stay effective even when things don’t go as planned.
The next time you encounter a problem…
Most people see problems as something to get rid of. But what if we saw them as proof that we’re moving forward?
A problem-free life is unrealistic. But we can become better at solving problems.
So, the next time you hit an obstacle, ask yourself:
- Am I expecting to “win” a game that has no finish line?
- What’s the best way to cycle through the OODA loop in this situation?
Problems never stop. But neither do we.
My latest video
Should you trust your intuition? Is your gut feeling a secret superpower—or just a trick your brain plays on you? In my latest video, we dive into the science of intuition, breaking down what studies actually say about when you can trust your instincts and when they’ll lead you astray.