Thinkage

“The first thing to remember is that there are two kinds of problems in this world.  You might be unfortunate enough to have both kinds at once but you should never forget that there are two kinds — the ones that can be largely solved by One Phone Call and the ones that can't.  ‘I don't have a job’ can be solved with One Phone Call.  Someone calls up and hires you... “The other kind of problem is the kind that can't be solved by One Phone Call.  Being very ill would probably be the most obvious example but it can also be a relationship problem that isn't going to get better and we can all imagine plenty of other situations...

“People keep plunging themselves into depression and despair because they mistake the first kind of problem for the second kind.  Neither is fun and I'm not suggesting the second kind is necessarily hopeless.  I know plenty of folks who've recovered from pretty severe disasters.  I just think it's valuable to distinguish between them and to not overdramatize the former into the latter.” -- Mark Evanier