Provision #245: Reframe the Problem
by Bob Tschannen-Moran
Laser Provision
There's no way to completely eliminate the challenge of getting and staying
motivated for life. But it is possible to reframe the problem so that the
challenge becomes easier, more enjoyable, and more sustainable. This Provision
gives you three practical illustrations of how to make this work.
LifeTrek Provision
One of my early mentors, Tex Evans, was a master at motivating people to do
dirty jobs they might not have otherwise considered doing. Each week during the
summer, volunteers from around the United States would come to the Appalachian
mountain region in order to do repairs on the dilapidated homes of mountaineer
families.
From time to time, a particularly terrible case would come to our attention.
Perhaps the job itself was incredibly hard, grubby work. Or perhaps the family
situation was especially heart wrenching. That's when Tex would go to work.
As the jobs were being discussed, he would casually mention that he had one job
that he really couldn't ask anyone to consider doing. It was just too difficult.
Then he would go through the rest of the jobs. This one needed to have the roof
worked on. Another one needed new screens. Still another needed to have the
walls in several rooms repaired and painted. So who would like to do what job?
Inevitably, one or more group leaders would ask about the especially difficult
job that he had seemingly forgotten to describe. "Oh, that one," my mentor would
say, "I'm really not sure we're up to that." "Tell us about it!" would be the
unison reply. At which point, with them already eating out of his hand, he would
go into the details of the job that was really his number one priority. Soon the
volunteers were fighting over who would get to do the worst job of the summer –
and the job would get done with pride.
What I learned from this experience, which I witnessed and replicated on
multiple occasions, is that one trick for staying motivated for life is to
reframe the problem. Are you unable to get yourself going on a particularly
difficult job? Are you procrastinating on something that will make your life
better? Are you having a hard time staying with something that works only as a
daily habit? Then it may be time to reframe the problem.
More examples will serve to illustrate the technique. Everyone knows that daily
exercise is critical to our long-term health and well being. No one can age
gracefully without such a habit. It keeps us fit, flexible, and fertile. Yet
many people think of this as a chore that they only get around to sporadically.
Who has the time or energy for that? Reframing the problem can help.
One such approach is the "10,000 Steps a Day" program, developed in Japan and
recently endorsed by the American College of Sports Medicine. All it takes is an
inexpensive pedometer that clips to your belt or waistband. The program's goal
is just what it says: take 10,000 steps a day. Unlike other exercise programs,
this one goes all the time. From the moment you get out of bed in the morning to
the moment you get into bed in the evening, every step counts.
Without any real effort, and just by reframing the problem, daily exercise
becomes a daily habit (unless you never get out of bed). Your focus becomes the
movement of life instead of finding 30 minutes to exercise. Everything shifts
and becomes effortless. Suddenly you'll start taking the furthest parking space,
in order to add steps. You may start taking the stairs rather than an elevator
or going for a walk with a client instead of doing lunch. And at the end of the
day, when you show 8,000 steps, you may go for a short walk in order to top off
the count.
In other words, you'll start doing all the things the doctors want you to do –
but you'll do them your own way, in your own time, and with your own wisdom.
That's how reframing the problem works. It gives you the time, energy, and
motivation that you have heretofore lacked.
Or take all those boring meetings that you have to go to at work. How much more
productive you could be if you didn't have to waste your time sitting in
meetings that always seem to talk about the same issues without ever making any
real progress! How much more fulfilled you could be if you didn't have to make
an appearance at events that really have nothing to do with your primary
interest or concern! Or so it seems.
One way to reframe this problem is to develop your own secret agenda for the
meeting. Decide to pay attention to something or someone you find interesting.
Don't just be a participant, be a participant observer. Count how many times the
convener of the meeting laughs. Notice people's nervous habits (fingernail
biting, hair twirling, etc.) and observe whether they practice them with more or
less frequency as the meeting goes on (you might even time them). Watch the
power shifts. Who is aligned with whom at the beginning of the meeting? At the
end of the meeting?
When the meeting is over, write your observations down in a reflective journal.
Why did you choose what you chose? Was it as interesting as you thought it would
be? Did you notice something that was even more interesting? What do your
observations say about the organization? About you as person? If you were going
to write a novel about someone who goes to these meetings, what could you say
about their life that would account for their behavior in the meeting?
It is possible to function on this level and on the level of the meeting itself.
One can pay attention to someone or something interesting without losing sight
of the agenda. That's what it means to be a participant observer. Once you make
the shift, you may never have a boring meeting again.
I hope these three illustrations will assist you to reframe your own problems.
It is not only possible to get and sustain your motivation for dealing with
them; it is essential. We all have motivation challenges, at every stage of
life. Reframing those challenges is the secret of lifelong success.
To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization,
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LifeTrek Readers' Forum
(selected feedback from the
past week)
Editor's Note: The LifeTrek Readers' Forum contains selections from the comments
and materials sent in each week by the readers of LifeTrek Provisions. They do
not necessarily reflect the perspective of LifeTrek Coaching International. To
submit your comment, use our Feedback Form or
Email Bob.
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invitation to subscribe to LifeTrek Provisions free of charge. I accept with
humbleness and great thanksgiving and am looking forward to more than just a
couple of weeks with your newsletter.
What is the difference between values
and priorities? I am new to LifeTrek. (Ed. Note: A priority is something you
choose to put ahead of everything else. People set their own priorities for
their own reasons. If you make your values a priority, then your values will
guide your choices. That's a good way to live, if you ask me.)
May you be filled with goodness, peace, and joy.
Bob Tschannen-Moran
President, LifeTrek Coaching International,
www.LifeTrekCoaching.com
CEO & Co-Founder, Center for School Transformation,
www.SchoolTransformation.com
Immediate Past President, International Association of Coaching,
www.CertifiedCoach.org
Author, Evocative Coaching: Transforming Schools One Conversation at a Time,
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