TACKLING A PROBLEM
- Think of something that’s not the way you want it to be in your life? (In Choice Theory terms, there is a discrepancy between how you want your life to be and how you actually see it.)
- How do you want it to be? (details, be as specific as you can.)
- What have you done so far to rectify this? (You may have tried some very sensible approaches.)
- Have your efforts so far got you what you want? (No matter how sensible, no matter how “right”, did they work?)
- Whatever you did so far, it was the best you knew how to do. (Don’t blame yourself. If you had known a better way you would have chosen it.)
- In this matter, who can you control? (In a sense this question asks if you want to wait for someone else to “fix” the situation.)
- Is there something you can do about it yourself? … today? (This something might be quite a small step, maybe even just setting time aside to think about the problem. TIP: Was there some similar situation in your past where you found a strategy that was successful, one that might suggest a strategy for today’s problem.)
- Spell out the what, when, where, who and how of your plan. (Good planning means being very specific.)
- If you don’t know what to do, is there someone who might help you find a solution?
- If your plan didn’t work well, what do you need to change? (Plans don’t always work first time around. Learn from the experience and adjust the plan.)
Author: Brian Lennon