1.Seeing problems that others have is much easier than identifying and working on our own problems. Think of some problem that you have (or have had) that involves at least one other person. If you are like most of us, you might have blamed the other person for the problem. Striving to be as honest as possible, identify your part of the problem or the aspect of the problem that you are willing to consider addressing. What might you change to contribute to the solution to the problem?
2. Think of a time in your life when you tried to convince someone to make a change he/she was resistant to make. For example, if a friend or partner said, “I don’t care how much money I owe. I am going to get this great new car.” You might have responded by saying “Maybe you should wait until you have gotten yourself out of debt before getting a new car.” What are your guesses about what the other person might say? Often when you push against resistance, the other person pushes back by making his/her position even stronger. In the above example, if you said,”It sounds like you really want the new car but, are you a bit concerned about how much money you owe?” How do you think the other person would have responded to that statement?
3. Think about a problem that you have faced or a problem that someone you know has faced or is facing. Write out ways to break the problem into several smaller, more manageable parts. You may want to challenge yourself to think of as many small parts as possible. It is important to generate these smaller parts of the problem since what seem like a manageable part to you may not seem so to others. Now, tell me what the problem was and what are the small manageable pieces you put it into?
