Since you are a personal growth enthusiast, I suspect you are often looking for ways to turn problems into opportunities. That seems to be wired into the DNA of people who are into self-help, personal development, self-improvement, etc.
Of course, being in the midst of the problem is often the hardest time to even get your mind to shift to thinking about the opportunity inherent in it. I have a friend who always asks me “What’s great about this?” when I bring up something that is frustrating me. Usually this helps me shift, but every now and then I want to bop her on the head for it. [superemotions file="icon_wink.gif" title="Wink"] Every cloud has a silver lining, but when it’s cloudy, sometimes it just feels cloudy.
As with anything, practice and use increases your skill at not just finding the opportunity, but to remember to do so in the first place. It’s easiest to practice new “ways of being” before the problem arises. Once you’re in the throws of it it’s harder to do, unless you’ve been practicing it so that has become automatic for you, or almost automatic.
One model you can use to help yourself re-think problems is called the Dynamic Opportunity Model.
The Dynamic Opportunity Model was created by Thomas Leonard, founder of CoachVille – one of the largest and most innovative coach training programs ever. (Thomas is no longer among us, but Dave Buck, who inherited the company, has graciously given me permission to share this model with you.)
The diagram shows the natural progression from a problem (symptom or situation) to opportunity. Note: read from bottom to top.
With each step up, you are identifying something deeper about what is really going on, and shifting the way you look at it. The key is on the third step – the green one labeled “underlying dynamic”. It’s not enough to just identify the cause or source of a problem, but you want to look deeper, to identify what is the dynamic underneath the cause that actually allows the situation to occur in the first place.
Once you do that, releasing your attachment to what has been holding you back becomes easier. Once you identify the underlying dynamic, the dynamic no longer has the same hold on you. This allows you to shift or re-orient yourself and how you look at the problem, which in turn leads to generating more possible solutions or strategies. Eventually these ideas coalesce (integrate and evolve) and you identify an opportunity waiting for you – one that has been identified because of the problem, not in spite of it.
Here’s an example that might help explain it a bit more.
Let’s say the problem or situation is that you have a lot of credit card debt (assuming you don’t want this, of course).
If that’s the problem, what is the cause or source? It could be any number of things depending on who you are and your specific situations. Some examples of possible causes/sources are: overspending, not being aware of budget, not being able to resist impulse buying, you just lost your job and are using credit cards to cover basic living expenses, you paid for your sister’s wedding and put it all on credit…
You see, there could be any number of “reasons” this has occurred – and they don’t have to be “bad” reasons.
But what’s going on underneath those causes?
Is it…
…you buy things in order to make yourself feel better, perhaps fill an emptiness you don’t talk about?
…you don’t have the skill set to manage a budget, or that you do, but you receive some other benefit from playing the victim by always finding yourself in hardship?
…you are embarrassed about how much money you make, so you pay for the wedding to “prove” you’ve made it?
…you stuck your head in the sand about your company downsizing, not wanting to face what might really happen, hoping it would all work out?
(I don’t mean to imply that people who have lost their jobs are sticking their heads in the sand…just using the example that in some cases we do fail to see the writing on the wall.)
These are examples of possible underlying dynamics.
Once you know the truth about yourself, and are willing to look at it honestly, it is easier to re-orient yourself, to shift your way of thinking, to recognize that’s not who or how you want to be. That is the shift that will pull you toward identifying the opportunity now in front of you.
I’m curious…what is a “problem” you are currently facing that you could transform into an opportunity by applying the Dynamic Opportunity Model.
I’ll share one of mine. For a long time I was frustrated that I was spending so much money on self-help and personal growth books, but never getting around to reading them, much less applying what I could have been learning. Using this model, I was able to identify some great solutions and strategies, which resulted in the creation of Personal Growth Princess! Now it’s great when I spend money on new books because that’s what my business is all about. And I get to read them – during regular work time! – because that’s how I create value for all the members. That’s what my business actually IS, so I have total permission to read, learn, and apply. [superemotions file="icon_biggrin.gif" title="Big Grin"]
What about you? What problems can you turn into opportunities?
Leave a comment below – or if you prefer, send me a private note.
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