Fixation ≠ resolution
I spent nearly the entire morning fixating on a problem that I couldn’t realistically solve — asking myself rhetorical questions like “what am I going to do” when, in fact, there is nothing to do at the moment about this particular problem.
If there was any hope of making good use of the rest of the day, I would have to remind myself that fixation is not the same as resolution.
No amount of thinking about the problem, however falsely reassuring it may feel to do so, was going to come to my aid.
And with this in mind the choice becomes simple:
Fixate and stress about the problem all day, and be no closer to a resolution.
Do other things — probably more worthwhile — all day and be no closer to a solution.
Some things are not in our control, but what generally is is our ability to redirect our energy towards the things we can control.