Sometimes you find yourself in a bad situation, but the best proposed solution makes you anxious. Maybe you have a bad boss making your job miserable, and the best solution is to set some boundaries with them, but you’re worried about their backlash. Or maybe your car is starting to make weird noises and overheat, but you’re worried that if you take it in to the shop you’ll be faced with a big bill. Insert any example you like.
The solution might make you anxious, but you always have to remember the grim alternative is staying in the bad situation! Yes, your boss might get mad if you set boundaries. You might even get fired! But what happens if you don’t? You just stay in that bad job forever – or, more likely, you quit or get fired anyway as it gets progressively worse.
Bad situations often have thorny exits. But exit you must. Because otherwise, you’re accepting that the bad situation is the best you’ll ever have.
The Opportunity Machine 