How long do you spend thinking about a problem? And how long do you spend thinking about the solution? There are some questions we can ask ourselves when it’s difficult to focus.
When we have a problem or issue that we need to resolve, it’s so easy to get caught up in a spiral of negative thinking. We go round and round, stewing on what’s gone wrong, and we become focussed on what we’re not happy about.
Solutions focussed therapy approaches problems by looking at the desired end result, and works backwards. It can be helpful if you find that the same issues keep coming up, or you have cycles of negative thoughts or habits.
Taking some time to think through our issues, or journaling our thoughts can help to work through what’s going on, and helps us discover possible solutions.
Here are some prompts that you could use:
- Where are you now on a scale of 0-10?
- Where would you like to be – what’s possible right now?
- What would need to happen for this score to improve?
- Which elements can I control in this situation?
- What can I change?
- When or how could I do this?
- How would things look in one week/one month’s time if I took this action?
- How committed am I to taking this action?
- What’s stopping me?
When we have recurring issues or problems, we tend to catastrophise, and we think that everything is failing.
We lose sight of the good things or our successes. And we can underestimate our strengths and skills because our focus is all about the problem.
By being more aware of where our focus is, we become more open to solutions and ideas. If we can imagine things being different and more positive, rather than focussing on what’s wrong, we can move forward.
So, if you’re finding it difficult to focus, I hope these questions will help.
