When facing an intractable high-consequence problem, your biggest enemy is yourself.
Human nature being what it is, most mere mortals worry their problems into a state that makes them even more difficult to resolve.
Stress builds further and the mind wanders to all the bad things that could happen.
The inevitable delays add more weight to the problem, and more stress and health begins to suffer.
A perfect storm.
So, how do you break out of this vicious cycle?
We all have our own ways, what gets me moving more positively is three simple steps.
- Write it down. Lay the problem out as simply as possible and attempt to document your ideal outcome.
- Forget about it. Go for a walk, get out in nature, enjoy the company of others. Really good to distress and relax. Resets the mind to adopt a positive attitude and opens it up to fresh thinking.
- Return to the problem with a positive mindset, confident that you will find a way to achieve your ideal solution, and fast.
Oh, and when you do return to the problem, keep your emotions out of it.
Engage your head (with positive expectations) not your heart. Save the emotions for after you’ve decided what to do.
For me, this frees up my thinking and puts me in a far more resourceful state.
Generally this allows me to find novel ideas and see different perspectives. And the solutions and decisions in hot pursuit!
Don’t suffer a complex problem, set yourself up for success instead.
The Gautrey Influence Blog
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