The Process

How can we get ourselves to make real, positive change – the kind that leads to sustained, meaningful outcomes that leave ourselves and this world a better place?

This is the question that I have been seeking answers to for many years now. It began with my own journey as I sought to take on more in my life. More recently, this curiosity deepened as I sought to help others take back control of their health with my health coaching program.

And now, I want to share it with you, because I believe that if we can find an answer to this question, we become capable of taking back control over our world – and as we all know, our world – our planet and our selves – it could all use some serious help.

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How do we get ourselves through big changes – the kind that threatens to shake us to our very core – while maintaining peace of mind and an ability to continue moving forward?

It’s a fact of life – change happens. As a matter of fact, that may just be the only thing we can count on. Change happens – and when it does, we have a choice as to how we respond.

How do we embrace the change? Do we hunker down and ride out the storm? Do we fight back and do our best to stick with the old? Or, can we learn to ride the wave – to make any necessary adaptations, keeping our heart set on creating better outcomes?

Always, #chasingupwardslopes

The Process of Taking on Big and Complex Challenges

What it is not

Whenever we take on a challenge, we want to know all the answers:

• what’s the goal?
• how do we get there, step-by-step?
• why each step?
• how do I get started?
• how long will this take?
• how long will each step take?

This is all fair to ask for. As we’ve been taught, accomplishing our goals is done by having clarity, and we’ve accomplished plenty of goals using this formula, so we want to keep using it.

But what if this problem is different? What if the challenge you are taking on now doesn’t lend itself to being understood fully before you get started? What if you can’t understand each step of the problem until you arrive at that step?

This is the case with complex problems – the type of problems that have so many factors at play that we don’t have any possibility of seeing how each step could unfold, let alone, what each step may even be.

Not to worry – while this sort of problem may sound impossible to take on, it’s really quite feasible if only we have the right approach that we apply with the proper mindset.

What it is

A complex problem is one that consists of numerous (often innumerable) factors that interact as a network such that it is impossible to trace precise pathways through the network, tying the beginning to the ultimate outcome.

We may be able to look at the problem and have a general idea of what it is made of, and we may be able to break it down into a few sub-systems to make it more manageable.

But the true essence of a complex problem is this: it is impossible to break it down into manageable pieces that we could understand individually and put back into a coherent whole. It is impossible to see the solution to the problem from the point where you stand today.

The only way to address the problem is to move forward through time with a strategy aimed at:

1. solving the piece that is right in front of you
2. learning about the next piece as it comes your way
3. all the while, using all of the information you gather to piece together an ever-changing picture of the whole

When it comes to addressing complex problems, this poses a challenge – especially for those of us who are accustomed to wanting all the answers from day one. We are so used to being able to break our challenges down and to understand clearly what each piece involves before we even get started.

But that’s just not a possibility this time, and that’s okay. Just because we are accustomed to one thing, it doesn’t mean that we can’t embrace another path.

Because the fact is, there are methods that we can use to address complex problems – methods that have been tried and put to the test with some seriously overwhelming challenges.

If they can do it, you can do it.

How do we approach it?

How do we approach a complex problem: one that we can only understand pieces of from where we stand today?

We begin, simply, by releasing the desire to approach it as a simple, linear problem:

1. Release your need to understand every piece of this journey from the beginning.
2. Release your need to control every piece of this journey along the way.

I know, this is so difficult, which is why I keep coming back to it. But I promise you, you have so much to gain by first releasing.

You can’t know all the answers here. You can’t control all the answers here. It’s not a matter of how hard you work or how much energy you put in. You simply can’t do it. It’s not a factor of you – it’s the nature of the problem.

Next, we acknowledge that a new approach is necessary. This approach is going to look different than what we may be comfortable with, but it’s okay to be uncomfortable. In this discomfort, you can expect this:

The approach will be different, but this doesn’t mean it has to be any more strenuous than that which we already know.

You won’t know all the answers today, but the answers will come to you as you move forward.

This approach is different, and this is okay. We can move outside our comfort zones. There are ways forward.

If you’re ready – if you’ve released your need to understand every piece of the journey from where you stand today, and if you’ve released the need to control every aspect of the journey… Well, let’s get started.

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Sign up here to join in as we use this process to work through our biggest challenges. When you sign up, you’ll get the exact steps you can use to navigate through any big challenge.

I can’t wait to see you on board 🙂