The best way to escape from a problem is to solve it.

This aphorism circulates widely in self-help, business, and motivational settings as a piece of practical advice about coping with difficulty. It is typically invoked when someone is tempted to avoid, deny, or “escape” a stressful situation—suggesting that avoidance only prolongs distress, while direct engagement brings relief. Despite frequent attribution to various public figures in popular quotation culture, it is most reliably treated as anonymous because no single, verifiable first publication or speech has become the accepted point of origin. Its longevity owes to its suitability for posters, coaching, and problem-solving rhetoric rather than to a traceable literary debut.

The statement reframes “escape” not as evasion but as resolution: the only durable relief from a difficulty comes from confronting it directly and working through it. It implies that avoidance merely postpones discomfort, often allowing problems to compound, whereas action restores agency and reduces anxiety by converting an amorphous worry into concrete steps. The aphorism also carries an ethical undertone—responsibility and courage are presented as the path to freedom. In practical terms, it endorses a bias toward problem definition, planning, and execution, suggesting that the emotional desire to flee is best answered by disciplined engagement.