Gaining insight.

One of the therapeutic activities I used to do with clients at my job in the hospital was something called Gaining Insight, which used cards with a variety of different topics on them and group members had to rate themselves on how well they carried out the particular phrase. Examples might include "saying no", "sustaining motivation", or "being goal-oriented". Group members were asked to rate themselves on a scale from 1-10 (my favorite) and then I'd ask them to process what contributed to their rating or prevented it from being a different number. The purpose, of course, was to evaluate and gain an awareness of how well they handled particular situations or carried out certain attributes.

Problem solving, I think, is something that a lot of people struggle with.... identifying the problem, deciding how to change, and then developing a plan of action to implement the change. I wonder if we get so caught up in the desire to change (and oftentimes want it immediately) that when it comes to actually doing the change, we get overwhelmed. Become frustrated. Want to give up.

I submit that when we get overwhelmed at a change, it becomes harder for us because we are consumed by it. We are consumed by wanting things to be different, now. We are consumed by seeing the way things are for other people. We see how far we have to go in our journey, and often forget how far we've come.

To me, the trick isn't following the rules... the trick is being able to have enough insight to recognize our feelings of being overwhelmed. To pull back and try to look at the big picture. To be aware of our thoughts and consume us. To see how our behaviors are helping (or hurting) us in reaching our goals.

Problem solving isn't that difficult when it comes down to it. We just tend to complicate things by getting too involved.

Take a deep breath.
Pull back.
Evaluate.
Move forward.