Focus on remedies, not faults. — Jack Nicklaus

Focus on remedies, not faults.

Author: Jack Nicklaus

Insight: We spend so much energy diagnosing what went wrong. The bad presentation, the failed relationship, the missed deadline—we analyze it, replay it, blame ourselves or others. But here's the thing: once you've identified the problem, analyzing it further rarely makes it better. What actually moves you forward is asking a different question: what do I do now? This matters especially when things are already hard. When you're struggling with work, health, or relationships, your brain naturally wants to understand why. That impulse isn't wrong, but it can trap you in a loop of self-criticism that feels productive but isn't. Nicklaus learned this in golf—you can't take back a bad shot, and dwelling on your swing mechanics in the moment only ruins the next one. The same applies everywhere. The energy you'd spend analyzing your mistake is energy you could spend fixing it. The non-obvious part? Sometimes focusing on remedies actually teaches you more about what went wrong than focusing on the fault itself. Action reveals things analysis can't. You start trying solutions and learn what the real problem actually was—which is often different from what you initially thought.