When a problem is easy, we see a solution clearly. That clarity solidifies the answer into a single point in conceptual space – no fuzzy outer area, no grey borders between right and wrong. Two plus two equals four.
So in our minds, we often associate “easy” with “clear.” Thus, we apply an equal reversal to both concepts: if “easy” is “clear,” then “difficult” must be “ambiguous.”
Hogwash. But easy to understand how people get there. They see a big, complicated problem and because the answer isn’t clear, they assume that the answer must also be “somewhere in the middle” or some such nonsense.
To be certain, some problems in your life will have answers that aren’t clear. It’s not wrong to acknowledge that. What’s wrong is thinking that every difficult problem you face lacks a clear, single answer just because it’s difficult to figure out what that answer is.
The Opportunity Machine 