“We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”
― Albert Einstein
An irony of life is that many problems are of our own making. Perhaps more fairly, many of our problems are side effects of solutions to older problems.
An example:
A man is facing multiple problems. He’s stressed out from everything going on in his life.
His boss promises to hire an assistant manager to help with the workload but doesn’t follow through. At home, his wife is pressuring him to take a family vacation. His kids are out of school for the summer and asking for an allowance. To top it all off, he only wants to be left alone for a while.
He doesn’t want to directly give his kids money because he believes they should learn to earn it. He wants to go on a vacation but feels it would be impossible to get that far ahead on work. If only there were a way…
How do you think this man is feeling? Consider the activation chart below:

He’s probably well into the FREEZE zone, feeling the need to conserve energy. Is he feeling depressed, numb, or helpless? Probably yes, to some degree.
His feelings are appropriate to his situation, but they aren’t helping him solve his problems. His emotions convey the overall message that he’s drained and overwhelmed, and he’s been this way for a while.
Creativity lives in the green zone, with groundedness, curiosity and joy. He hasn’t been there for far too long. His problems have begun to pile up because the creativity he needs to solve them isn’t accessible.
His biggest issue has little to do with the problems he can identify; it’s the problem he can’t identify that matters: he’s lost access to his creativity.
Imagine if this man got sick for a week, not super sick, but sick enough that he couldn’t go to work. What then?
He’d have time. Time to sit and rest. Time to decompress. Time to feel his way through the emotional pileup in his heart. After a couple of days, emotions would begin to settle. He might notice that he has a messy garage and a few bored kids who want money. His boss would have to do his job without him. He’d realize the company has grown, and it’s not that the man wants help; he needs it.
When we have an array of problems, it’s a sign that we’ve lost our creativity and haven’t prioritized the activities that reduce our activation state.
Why not be proactive about it? Set boundaries. Claim the time you need to decompress. Plan it into your life regularly. Guard it like you would guard a critical doctor’s appointment. People don’t need to know what you’re doing or why. They need to know that you’re unavailable during that time.
Taking time to decompress doesn’t seem like an option, but it’s often the best option. It doesn’t seem possible to take an afternoon, a day or a week for ourselves, but suddenly, when we’re sick, the world keeps going. It will continue just the same when we take time for active self-care.
You’re not trying to duck out of work or avoid responsibility. You’re being responsible by maintaining the part of you that solves problems creatively. Time spent decompressing is time well spent.
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