Catch-22

Definition: a Catch-22 is a paradoxical no-win situation in which someone cannot or is incapable of avoiding a problem because of contradictory constraints or rules.
Often these situations are such that solving one part of a problem only creates another problem, which ultimately leads back to the original problem.
Catch-22s often result from rules, regulations, or procedures that an individual is subject to, but has no control over.

More on catch-22s. More on problem solving: Evaporating Cloud, Heuristics, Hypothesis Testing, Intuition, Kepner-Tregoe, more...