Was Frodo Baggins, the character who inspired my first piece, not aware of the impossibility of his mission? And yet, the destruction of the One Ring was necessary. King Leonidas and his Spartan soldiers took on the impossible task of defending the Pass of Thermopylae against the vast Persian army before them, because delaying the enemy was necessary.

Such situations have repeated countless times in literature, cinema, and history. Instead of being held back by the impossibility of the situation, heroes have endured the burden of doing what is necessary, regardless of the outcome—and this has etched them into our memories.

So who are these heroes? Sometimes, a person is so virtuous that giving up isn’t even an option. They will do what must be done, no matter the outcome, without a word of complaint. Sometimes, on the other hand, a person is so inexperienced that limits learned through experience don’t apply to them, and they keep moving forward on the path they believe is right. One character who represents this courage born of inexperience very well is Hanamichi Sakuragi from Slam Dunk, my favorite anime series. During a match where even his teammates, who normally never give up, have fallen into despair, he refuses to surrender and keeps fighting. He attributes this to his ignorance, saying to his friends, “I’m not an experienced basketball player who knows we’re going to lose this match.” Thus, sometimes, even knowledge itself can be an obstacle to doing what’s right at the right time.

The need for action does not only appear in epic events. We encounter this in every moment of life. Sometimes, you find yourself remembering years past, wishing you had done or hadn’t done something. These are your Interstellar moments—times when you avoided doing what was necessary because it seemed impossible at the time. But for some reason (lack of courage, too much information, confusion, etc.), you couldn’t display the determination Cooper had.

So what should we do? We can start by letting go of the past, avoiding the habit of dwelling on mistakes, and resisting the urge to plan every detail of the future. Instead, we can focus on the only thing we have control over—the present moment.

I believe that a person who can maintain their calm, without constantly being haunted by the ghosts of the past or tormented by the uncertainties of the future, will be no less capable than Cooper, Frodo, Leonidas, or Sakuragi when it comes to doing what is necessary in an impossible situation (and this doesn’t always mean taking action; sometimes what is necessary is letting go).