I've been thinking about a question recently: why are so many things in life impossible to settle?

For example, finding a partner—you find it hard to demand that someone be good-looking, understand business, and also be especially faithful, all at once. The same applies in the workplace, too—want more money, fewer tasks, and closer to home? Basically impossible. Even when scrolling short videos, it’s difficult to find creators who are both original, update frequently, and deliver top-tier quality.

This isn’t a coincidence. Behind it there’s actually an economic concept called the Impossible Triangle—also known as the Trilemma. The most classic example is in a country’s economic policy: when a country wants to achieve at the same time extremely free capital flows, highly independent monetary policy, and a stable exchange rate—these three goals simply cannot coexist. If you choose two of them, you inevitably have to sacrifice the third.

Once you understand the logic of this Impossible Triangle, you’ll find it everywhere. Do policymakers want ordinary people to enjoy benefits without having to wait in line? The Impossible Triangle is at work. Do content creators want high-frequency updates while also guaranteeing content quality and being completely original? They can’t escape this curse either.

So rather than obsessing over why you can’t have everything at once, it’s better to figure out which two things you care about most and proactively give up the third. That’s the real wisdom you gain after understanding the Impossible Triangle.