This morning, I biked for the first time this year with a friend. We like to go on long bike rides on Sunday mornings, while the church goers are still at church and the college kids are still sleeping in from last night’s party and the young professionals are still reading the Sunday paper.

I arrived at my friend’s house only to find that her tires were flat from sitting in the garage all winter and her bike pump had been used by her son and subsequently broken. We quickly decided on a plan to take her bike into a shop in Boulder to get the tires inflated. Only thing is we couldn’t figure out how to get her front tire off to get the bike in the car. Two trained engineers, fiddling with the front brake pads, to get enough clearance to remove the tire. 10 minutes later, we were no further along.

Out of the blue, I realized a quick and easy solution to the problem. I suggested we go buy a bike pump. My friend and I had been so focused on solving the problem by taking her bike into a bike shop, that we had completely overlooked the obvious. Why not buy a new bike pump? As it turns out, one of the largest chains of sporting goods stores in Colorado is less than 5 minutes from her house. We returned with a new pump in 15 minutes and were biking 10 minutes later.

This is a great metaphor for what happens in life. I can get overly focused on a solution looking a certain way and spend countless hours pursuing a path that doesn’t work. Or I can shift my thinking and find the effortless and easy way to my destination. Like buying a bike pump.

Really, whatever you are working on, doesn’t have to be so hard. There’s a solution, much easier and simpler, that’s waiting to be discovered.