Two people were trying to move a heavy piece of office furniture—a large cabinet—from one room into another. It was solid, awkward, and just wide enough to be a problem.

They managed to get it to the doorway, and then everything stopped.

They strained.

They pushed harder.

They adjusted their grip.

They used all their strength.

Nothing moved.

Both of them were exhausted, frustrated, and convinced the cabinet was simply too heavy.

Finally, one of them stepped back and said, “Wait a minute. What are you doing?”

“I’m pushing,” the other replied.

“That’s the problem,” he said. “So am I.”

They were both pushing with everything they had—

and no one was pulling.

As soon as one of them changed position, the cabinet slid through the doorway with surprising ease.

The problem was never strength.

It was direction.