"What if there's another way?"
That question has saved me more time than trying harder ever did.
When something isn't working, my first instinct is to push. More effort. More time. More pressure.
Sometimes more isn't the answer.
I once spent hours attacking the same problem the same way. Again. And again. And again. Nothing moved.
Then I searched online and found someone doing it completely differently. Ten minutes later it was fixed.
That annoyed me. It also taught me something. The answer isn't always to push harder. Sometimes it's to step back and ask a better question.
I see it everywhere. A student using a study method that isn't helping. Someone at work repeating the same mistake. A couple having the same argument. Someone trying to fix a money problem with the habit that caused it.
Different situations, same pattern.
They're not short on effort. They're short on a different approach. A different method. A different person to explain it. A different angle.
That's not laziness. That's thinking.
And thinking saves you months of pushing at the same wall.
So before you push again, stop and ask: what if there's another way?
The best solution often looks strange until it works.