I’ve recently been noticing an interesting phenomenon. I had known in my head starting from the perspective of the solution rather than the problem is best, but when you’re in the thick of it, that’s sometimes easier said than done. It’s where practice is starting to help.

Two events over the past couple of days have aptly illustrated this:

(1) After getting Ellie the Airstream back from the shop, we had no power in the office outlet. There was also no power at the nearby outdoor outlet. I did not relish the idea of fishing through lines hidden between sheets of aluminum to find a random open in the circuit, but managed to stay focused on finding a solution. A few minutes later Anne pointed out an amber light on a GFCI outlet near the TV, and I noticed the Apple TV plug was barely in. I (again) checked the breaker box and this time noticed the tripped breaker, likely caused by arcing from the loose plug, resulting in loss of downstream power. Easy fix.

(2) While disassembling our ProPride hitch in favor of a new AirSafe hitch, I found a bent u-bolt, preventing me from unscrewing the mounting bolt and completely removing the old hitch. Off to the hardware store I went in search of a hack saw or maybe bolt cutters, neither of which I wanted to add to our burgeoning pile of tools we travel with. Walking through the tools, I happened upon a Dremel display and a metal cutting blade. Small, compact, and lightweight, the blade was the perfect solution since I already had a Dremel and it added a mere ounce instead of a couple of pounds to our payload. Whew.

Noticing these solutions coming to me was icing on the cake (even though I hadn’t immediately put 2 and 2 together in either instance), but it sure is reinforcement for next time I seem stuck on a problem. Just have to remember to shift my focus to feeling good and finding the best possible solution, already on its way.

Enjoy this in your home and more from Grand Teton National Park here.