In Crisis, There’s Always a Move—But It’s Almost Never Obvious or Comfortable

When things go off the rails—a product fails, a team starts to unravel, unforeseen circumstances pile up—the wheels of panic start spinning. It’s easy to believe you’ve hit a dead end. That feeling of 'no good choices left' is almost everyone’s worst fear. Yet, countless turnaround stories begin right there, not with a brilliant plan, but with the refusal to believe in checkmate.

Time and again, great leaders—at companies large and small, or in family emergencies—have faced these moments. They list their choices, hate all of them, and then, usually in a late-night brainstorming session or a raw conversation, stumble onto a move nobody saw coming. Maybe it’s taking the company public early, or completely changing business models, or admitting vulnerabilities to rally help. Each 'there’s always a move' story sounds different, but the pattern is stubborn creativity fueled by desperation and personal courage.

Cognitive science suggests that feeling boxed in actually narrows our mental scope, shutting down problem-solving circuits. Only when someone actively reframes the situation—'What haven’t we tried? Who else can help?'—does the brain light up new possibilities. History teaches us that the 'last resort' is often anything but final—except if you convince yourself to stop trying.

So the next time your stress pushes you toward the wall, remember the lesson from emergencies everywhere: dig for the messy, awkward, creative move you haven’t made yet.

When you’re facing a situation where every choice looks terrible, force yourself to write down your options—and let yourself list the wild, unlikely, or even embarrassing ones on a separate page. Don’t filter. Then ask yourself what it would take, honestly, to make even one of the 'crazy' ideas slightly less impossible—maybe it’s time to reach out to a mentor, shuffle resources, or rethink your priorities. You’ve been resourceful before in impossible situations, even if you forgot how you managed it. Give yourself permission not to love any single move, only to move forward. Try this the next time you feel boxed in—what strange door could you open?