Recently, my husband visited a jobsite in an unsavory Brooklyn neighborhood and parked his car in the street. When he returned, he absentmindedly opened the trunk, put his bag in, put his cellphone in, put his key in, and shut the trunk.

Oh no! Now cellphone and key were in the trunk and the car door was locked. No cellphone, no way to call for help. A building maintenance person nearby had one of those wire door break-in contraptions and offered to help. Hope!

Oh no! That didn’t’ work. What now? The maintenance guy let my husband use his cellphone to make a call, and a while later a guy from Pop-a-Lock showed up. Hope! Pop-a-Lock unlocked the car door and also popped the hood, but since the electronics had been bypassed, they self-disabled automatically, and with it the electronic trunk pop device was also disabled.

Oh no, for the third time! Pop-a-Lock had no further solution, suggested to get the car towed, and left. I was too far away to drive down to bring the other car key, and towing the car home would be big hoopla. My husband had to find another solution. Knowing about electronics, he asked the building maintenance guy for a wrench to disconnect the car battery. Hope! Lo and behold, disconnecting the battery also disabled the electronics, and he was able to open the trunk manually. Success!

All this to say that the only limitation to a solution is the mind. When the mind shifts, so does the problem, and possibilities open up. Hopelessness is in the mind, there is always a way out.