Build a new mindset for success

Maybe you opened this thinking that it was a wild card…  3 solutions to magically solve every problem you have.

And I don’t want to disappoint.

Without knowing your specific challenge(s), I believe that what I have to offer is even better, and will help to solve any problem you EVER have!

So, what is it that will help to solve any problem you EVER encounter???

It’s your MINDSET.  More specifically the mindset that:

‘There are at LEAST 3 solutions to every problem’.

I didn’t invent this concept, but discovered and adopted it early in my career, making it one of my core beliefs. 

We could compare challenges and tragedies, but believe me when I tell you that I have dealt with my share of both. Personally and professionally. 

I've seen, first-hand, that the more you make The 3 Solutions Mindset a part of who you are, how you operate, and your default thinking, the less time you’ll spend in despair. And the more time you’ll spend confidently making things better.

Here are the problems:

1. When tragedy or challenge strikes, we tend to default to “Oh-sh*t” mode.  Immediately seeing or imagining an escalating and unavoidable series of worst-case scenarios coming at us like a herd of elephants.

2. This is nearly always accompanied by a sudden onset of self-pity…  “Why me?”, “Poor me!”, or “Here we go again!”, are the instantaneous refrains, often spoken out loud, that zoom through your brain and body. This does nothing to solve the problem but contributes in a big way to amplify issue #3.

3. These debilitating thoughts tend to consume your mind and even cause physical responses like tension, apprehension, and often some level of debilitating paralysis.  A reduced capacity to think, move and act.

4. These three choices (and they ARE choices) do NOTHING to solve or avoid the real issue(s).

Some people stay here, living in this stymied state all the time. (I’m not saying you, but you may ‘know people’ who do… ;)  

They seem to live life, just waiting for the next opportunity to be a victim, trapped in their perpetually unfortunate fate.

There are less extreme versions, of course - people who normally keep, or eventually regain their head and their ability to handle challenges.  Maybe they don’t always get stuck, or spin out when issues arise, but still waste valuable time and emotion in the ditch before they rally, and eventually stop feeding the problem, insisting that ‘the sky is falling’.

Mark Twain said:

 “I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.”

So, why waste time at all?  

Or deplete yourself with the energy-sucking toll that these ‘poor-me’ detours take on the experience of your life [day, week, or season]. 

The good news is that neither you nor they need to spend time in any of these dramas.

Okay, maybe they need a minute or two - five at the most.  Then the pity party’s over.  It’s “everyone out of the pool” and time to change into the new you!

Here are 3 Solutions:

1. Adopt the mindset, right now, that there are at least 3 solutions to EVERY problem.

   

   This instantly puts you on a solution track.  You don’t waste a second wondering IF there’s a solution (which leaves a void for the despair above to fill).  Instead, you focus immediately on what the 3 solutions are.  Then, which would be best?

• Right out of the gate, you’re winning 3-zip!

• Despair = 0;  Possibilities = 3

2. If you can’t default to this mindset yet, (perhaps years of ‘Oh-sh*t” have become a habit or a way of life), just recall and apply the “3 Solutions Mindset” as quickly as possible.  Mentally, change lanes from being stuck and frustrated with problems to being freed and energized by solutions. *Try the 3 Solutions Challenge below and see yourself as a solution-generating machine.

3. Pay-it-Forward.  Encourage others around you to do the same.  You never learn anything like when you teach it.  The more you espouse the 3 Solutions Mindset, the more natural and instinctive it will become.  The more you insist that everyone on your team default to devising solutions, the less time you’ll spend struggling and the more progress you will all achieve.
   

Do this over and over, whenever the opportunity arises, to stop feeding problems that are fueling frustration.

Instead, breathe life into solutions and possibilities for your progress and prosperity!

Action Step(s):

1. Take ‘The 3 Solutions Challenge’ - For just one day, (let’s say tomorrow - or even the rest of today) any time you see or encounter a problem, challenge yourself to come up with at least 3 solutions.  On the spot is best.  Within an hour or two is also good.

2. Expand your Challenge to a week of “3 Solutions Thinking”...  No less than 3 solutions for any problem for a full week.   

3. If you’re an overachiever, like most of my followers, share the 3 Solutions Challenge with a colleague, or your whole team. 

See who, or how soon, you all can default to the “3 Solutions Mindset”.

Drop me an email at Tim@ChangingLanesApproach.com.  Let me know your results.

How do you stay focused on solutions?  Leave a comment to continue the conversation.

Tim Rhode is a seasoned business consultant, executive coach, speaker, and author. 

The “3 Solutions Mindset” is a liberating part of his Changing Lanes for Business Program - 4 Simple Steps to Lead Successful Change and Transform Your Business.