Sometimes, the solution is right in front of us. We just have a spectacular number of thoughts standing in the way.
I have been talking about this a lot recently.
You have something to deal with. Then come the interpretations, the predictions, the imaginary conversations. You start preparing answers to questions nobody has asked.
By lunchtime, you have attended an entire meeting that took place exclusively in your head.
It can be exhausting. And it can make a manageable situation feel enormous.
Sometimes we see a problem as insurmountable because we are overwhelmed by thoughts we have created around it. The solution may already be there, but we can barely see the situation itself anymore.
That distinction matters to me.
A practical difficulty needs our attention. An assumption needs examining. A prediction is something we are imagining about the future. When we put them all together, it becomes difficult to know where to begin.
Separating them can give us something useful to work with.
What has actually happened? What am I assuming? What can I do with the information available?
These are the kinds of questions finding more space in my recent podcast conversations.
There are now more than 100 conversations online, and they continue.
Alongside sport, mindset, leadership and responsibility, we are getting further into the situations people live through every day: a difficult discussion, a plan that needs adjusting, a choice that feels bigger the longer we think about it.
I particularly enjoy this part. Taking an idea far enough that someone listening can recognise their own situation and think, “I can use that.”
You can find the episodes in Podcast & Conversations on the blog. If you haven’t visited recently, there is plenty to catch up on.
Bring something you have been turning over in your head.
A different question might be exactly where the opening is.
Silvia
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