We all have had that experience of “stuckness” before – that uncomfortable, nagging, draining experience of a problem that just won’t shift. It can be hard to engineer yourself out of these situations without the right toolkit.
Renowned counselor and author Bill O’Hanlon, famous for his solution-oriented approach, advocates for invoking one small change that could shift this issue even slightly, often resulting in big impacts. He suggests one such change being a “Change in Viewing”. One of his more famous quotes states that “there is nothing as dangerous as an idea when it’s the only one that you have” and invites us to take a different perspective on the issue we are wrestling with. In the midst of crisis lies an opportunity and in the midst of emotional indecision lies cold hard inescapable facts – are we prepared to shift our focus to a new perspective?
Another suggested change by O’Hanlon is a “Change in Doing”. This approach invites us to look at the madness of repeating well-worn patterns and expecting different results. He advocates analysing our issue for patterns that repeat and invoking one small action to disrupt this pattern. Simple examples of this are when we are caught in cycles of overthinking – talk to someone. If we are used to moving at a fast pace and getting things done, try slowing down, reflecting, planning. Being able to shift into different gears of Doing is the key to getting unstuck.
When we wrestle with a long-standing problem or issue, we are likely to experience an element of stress which biologically makes us more likely to become fixed to our methods. In simple terms, under stress, we are less likely to consciously adapt. Allow yourself some time today to shift gears and change your Viewing & Doing.
Top Tips:
1. Identify an issue that you are currently wrestling with.
2. Can you change the Viewing of this issue? Is there a more helpful perspective to take on this issue/
3. Can you change the Doing of this issue? What’s the one action, no matter how small, that you are resisting taking that could move this issue forward?
