Why That One Problem Keeps Coming Back
How high-capacity leaders get trapped in invisible loops and how to break them
Why That One Problem Keeps Coming Back
A few years ago, I found out I was pregnant, at a time when my body was already in chronic pain.
The first questions that came to mind were survival-based:
How am I going to get through this? How do I handle this pain when I’m already at capacity?
The questions triggered a panic attack. My brain was scanning for how to manage something it assumed was inevitable.
But then I paused. And I asked something different:
What if there didn’t have to be any pain to manage?
That one question changed everything.
It didn’t just change my mindset. It changed what I saw, what I studied, what I practiced.
It led to a completely pain-free birth that the entire delivery team still talks about.
The solution was always there.
I just stopped solving the wrong problem.
The Strategic Bridge
Here’s what I know to be true in my body, my business, and every client I work with:
No problem exists without its solution.
If there’s a loop, it’s not because the solution is missing. It’s because the lens is off.
And in a world moving as fast as this one, where AI is restructuring workflows, identity, speed, and even language…
Where human behaviour, political landscapes, expectations are morphing…
We don’t have the luxury of solving today’s challenges with yesterday’s frameworks.
And when the external world is shifting this fast and you’re operating at high capacity, it’s easy to get so busy responding that you forget to pause and re-anchor your lens.
You stop seeing what’s actually needed.
The 1% Shift: Shift the Lens, Break the Pattern
If a problem keeps repeating in your life, business, calendar, or team, even after you’ve tried to solve it, it’s not about effort.
It’s the lens.
Here’s what that looks like in real terms:
The Three Core Lenses That Keep Loops Alive
1. The Vision Gap
Vision isn’t a vague goal or a one-line mission.
It’s the anchor your brain uses to decide what matters and what doesn’t.
If your vision isn’t clear or current, you default to solving based on present reality. That means every decision loops you back into what’s already happening.
Your mind defaults to what's already in front of you. It pulls information based on current reality, not possibility.
Without a strong concept of what you're building toward, your system can’t select the right inputs.
So you start solving based on what is, not what could be.
That’s why you keep asking the same questions and getting the same answers.
You don’t have anywhere else to land.
You either repeat what’s familiar or piece together what others say should matter.
Neither works.
This is why I believe that vision isn’t optional, especially for high-capacity leaders navigating growth.
It’s the foundation for powerful decision making.
2. The Perspective Trap
If you keep asking the same questions, you'll keep seeing the same options.
Most people solve from inside their own frame.
It’s automatic. Efficient. Comfortable.
But your frame is only one slice of the field.
When your lens stays the same, so does your logic. So do your ideas. So do your outcomes.
The Perspective Trap isn’t about not trying hard enough.
It’s about not seeing far enough.
When we keep circling the same questions:
“How do I do this better?”
“How do I fix what’s not working?”
“How do I avoid failing again?”
we’re still inside the same frame.
Shifting perspective means pulling out of that micro view and deliberately choosing to see the challenge through other lenses:
What would someone in a different industry do here?
What happens if I turn this problem sideways?
What if I’m not even solving the right part?
It’s not always about doing the opposite.
More often than not, you just want to multiply your angles of view until you see what was previously hidden.
This might look like:
Seeking insight from someone who’s already solved it successfully.
Reverse engineering their path.
Letting go of the assumption that your frame of thought is the most accurate one.
Taking a full step back before you take the next one forward.
The shift here is looking at the problem differently.
3. The Belief Barrier
Sometimes the path is clear.
You’ve clarified the vision.
You’ve shifted the frame.
And still the loop continues.
Why?
Because the deepest loops are internal.
Beliefs don’t just affect how we feel.
They determine what we can see, allow, and act on.
Even when the path is clear, beliefs can distort how it’s interpreted, delayed, or dismissed.
Here are examples of how beliefs create and sustain loops:
a. Beliefs shape what feels “available.”
If you believe a result isn’t available yet, you’ll unconsciously delay it.
Even when the move is obvious, you’ll slow down, overthink, or pivot.
→ Loop: Clarity without execution
→ You return to the same idea later… and repeat
a. Beliefs dictate which options are even visible.
If your system still believes “growth = grind,” your brain won’t register easier paths.
It undervalues solutions that feel elegant or light. It defaults to complexity.
→ Loop: Reinventing hard things
→ You rebuild the same workflow with better branding, but the same heaviness that ends up breaking the system.
🔁 3. Beliefs control identity, and identity drives action.
If you see yourself as “the fixer,” “the operator,” or “the one who figures it out,” you’ll unconsciously create situations where that identity stays relevant, even if what’s really needed is delegation, tech automation, or release.
→ Loop: Self-perpetuating struggle
→ The role feels familiar, so the results stay familiar
🔁 4. Beliefs about worthiness delay momentum.
If you believe ease, money, or visibility must be earned, you’ll resist receiving them too soon.
You’ll doubt fast traction. You’ll downplay simplicity.
→ Loop: False starts or missed exits
→ You take action, see traction, then pull back or re-route
🔁 5. Beliefs reward staying stuck.
There’s almost always a hidden payoff:
Control
Familiarity
Safety
Avoiding the discomfort of visibility or success
→ Loop: Sophisticated sabotage
→ You tell yourself you're optimising, but really, you're stalling.
Even the most experienced leaders resist what feels unfamiliar, even if it’s right.
That’s how loops stay intact.
Your Move: Break the Loop Now
Start here:
1. Clarify your vision and how it should feel once it’s real.
What do you want to achieve and what do you want it to feel like when it’s done?
If you’re scaling for example, define what “scaled” looks like for you:
What does your calendar look like?
How are clients engaging with your work?
How much space do you have to think, lead, and rest?
How does it feel in your body?
Get specific.
If you don’t define the outcome and the felt sense of it, your brain will keep looping what it already knows.
2. Find someone who has solved it successfully.
Look outside your lane - it’ll help you see the problem from even more angles.
Interview someone who’s already on the other side of the problem you're in.
Ask how they did it. Not just the steps. The decisions. The trade-offs. The beliefs they had to change.
Do this with three to five people.
You’ll start seeing new options you couldn’t before.
When a lot is changing, you want to ground yourself in principles that are timeless.
These three lenses of Vision, Perspective, Belief have helped me solve what looked like complex, unsolvable problems in martial arts, in relationships and parenting, in business and so much more.
The loop only continues if you let it.
This is how you choose something else ;)
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