While installing a spare tire on my vehicle, I paused.

Both sides of this wheel look similar. Which side should face outward?

Turns out, the design made it so that the wheel fit one way and not the other. That helped to make the choice clear. Given a choice that works and one that doesn’t, choose what works.

But as I replaced the lug nuts, I noticed something: the valve stem.

This valve — used for filling the tire with air — was on the outside of the vehicle (rather than facing underneath). This let me know with certainty that I was doing things the proper way.

Sometimes it takes stepping back and thinking simply and practically — and the right path reveals itself.