Why we should trust our skills

As I was cycling home from work the other day, I had the brief thought that I should check whether my house key was still in my pocket. However, when I ran my hand over my trouser pocket, I couldn't feel the key. Within half a second, my body was in a kind of Alarm modeI fumbled through all my trouser pockets in a slight panic and couldn't find the key.

In my head, I now began to form a to-do list. First, I would have to write to the landlady that I had lost the key and wait to receive a new one. Then I would borrow a spare key from a friend who had one until further notice.

Even if these tasks are not a real challenge, it is still more unpleasant than if I hadn't lost my key. But what also occurred to me shortly afterwards was that I would master this situation with confidence and not have to worry. Incidentally, the slight Alarm mode pretty much the moment I created the plan.

How often in life do we panic as soon as something turns out differently than we would like and how often do we find an adequate solution to the problem at virtually the same moment it arises? Incidentally, this should also be the core or centerpiece of this short article. The next time something doesn't turn out the way you would like it to, don't worry, I'm sure your skills will be more than sufficient to deal with the situation. It may not be as good as you originally thought, but it will be good enough not to break you.

The more often you are exposed to such situations and the more often you make the best of the initially awkward situation, the better your ability to solve such problems will become. 

Incidentally, solving problems can be incredibly fun, otherwise there would be no puzzle games such as crosswords, sudokus, jigsaw puzzles and so on. However, solving problems in real life also has the advantage that we make our own lives better by solving them.

Incidentally, I found the key from the story mentioned at the beginning in my bag when I was calmly looking in my bag again. So the stress and panic I had were not even justified. I still need to work on my ability to feel keys in trouser pockets, but this should also become more pronounced with each subsequent time.