We never solve problems, we trade them off. The thought is not depressing. It is liberating because it means we can chose the ones we can deal with.
Sometimes, to be absolutely focused on solving an (unsolvable) problem becomes almost pathological. We need to choose which ones to improve, which ones to decrease their uncertainty, the reasonable trade offs, without being obsessed with a perfect solution.
What does not work is to:
Pray that the problem will go away
Pretend there is no problem, if there is one.
Sweeping them under the carpet.
Warning, some people create problems that do not exist. Identify them by their busy-ness, sense of struggle and appearance of mind superiority disguised by incomprehensible technical or tribal language
I personally don’t buy the ‘things that I can’t control’ automatic mantra. Very often the decision of what I can and cannot control is taken very early in the confrontation with the reality. I often don’t know if I can or cannot, but what I do know is the trade-off I am willing to make so that the problem looks different, not necessarily smaller, not necessarily solvable, but certainly more manageable.
Organizational life is after all a Big Bazaar of trade offs. A 24/7 one.