We were solving the wrong problem.
And it kept getting more expensive.
This is part of a weekly series on making movement possible — at home, in classrooms, and anywhere things get stuck.
Each week:
→ a simple tool
→ a short breakdown
→ something you can actually try
(If you’re new here, start anywhere. It’ll still work.)
The issue was simple.
Light on.
Light off.
That was the fight.
Sam wanted the light off.
Taylor wanted the light on.
So EAs did what made sense.
Of course they did.
They explained.
They insisted.
They tried to get them to accept it.
It didn’t work.
It got worse.
I was at my desk.
Not in it. Watching.
Of course I was.
More push.
More resistance.
More time.
From the outside, it looked like behaviour.
It always does.
That’s the trap.
Refusal.
Control.
Defiance.
But that wasn’t the problem.
They weren’t solving the issue.
They were solving what it looked like.
And every time they pushed the wrong thing —
it got more expensive.
The light wasn’t the problem.
The room was.
No one was looking there.
Too dark.
Too closed.
Too much.
So I opened the window.
And just like that —
movement.
Not because we won.
Not because they gave in.
Because we stopped paying for the wrong problem.
Wrong problem.
So the cost kept rising.
If this felt familiar, you’re not alone. Most of us were taught to push harder when things stall.
This series is about doing the opposite—
reducing the cost so movement becomes possible.
You can find the full framework and more tools here:
👉 https://tonyhttsang.com
Next: Refusal — when stopping the push is the move.