If it’s not one thing ​

It need not be another.

Although the alternative is rare:

• “If it’s not one thing, it’s another”: Another fire to put out? Moving from fire to fire feels like progress, but it leaves us battered and burned.
• “If it’s not one thing, it’s **no thing”:** A better alternative is to make that ‘one thing’ fireproof in future so that it can’t be a ‘thing’ again in future.

I’d like to think “If it’s not one thing, it’s no thing” could be a phrase that replaces the popular alternative. Perhaps then we’d all fix the problems in our work for good, rather than merely chasing symptoms around.