“Don’t fight it, Dan”

I worked in a bicycle store when I was in high school. I was trained on the job to set up new bikes out of the shipment boxes. Later, I was learning how to make basic and intermediate repairs. On one particularly frustrating job my boss was quietly observing me from a distance. He came over and very gently said, “Don’t fight it, Dan.”

He wisely noticed that my frustration was leading to wasted energy and non-creative attempts to solve the mechanical problem with brute force.

Patience is required. Think creatively about the tools. Find the mechanical advantage. Take a deep breath. Ask for help. Don’t allow your angry frustration to make the problem worse by forcibly breaking something that doesn’t need to be broken.