It's a kind of sickness. Sometimes people are attached to a good answer. That is not correct kong-an practice. Correct practice is necessary. That means throwing away our attachments to our conditions, opinions, and situations.
American mind is intellectual, very analytical.
The intellectual mind cannot pass kong-ans. Correct kong-an practice means your mind becomes very simple. Then practicing kong-ans is no problem. The old style was to go into the mountains, cut off the outside world, and just work on one kong-an. Our style of practice is to learn how to function correctly in everyday life through kong-an practice.