Rethink your approach

“Rethink your approach …”

The theme for a series

of Neutrogena print ads

Good morning! I am often asked how I have achieved certain accomplishments during interviews. Answering had always been challenging. I found it difficult to articulate a “core” of achievement until stumbling on this Neutrogena® advertisement. “Rethink your approach” summarizes a vital and crucial component between achieving and abandoning a goal.

Imagine you are driving to a very important, long-planned, family get-together. While driving you encounter a closed road. What do you do? Do you rethink your approach? My guess is that you would retrieve your map or just wing it by taking an alternate route; or perhaps call someone at the gathering and ask what route he used to maneuver the road block.

When faced with blocks on the road of dreams too often people do not reach for a map or try an alternate route. Instead they idle, sometimes they park, and sometimes they simply wait for “something” to happen. Rarely do we demonstrate the same “alternative thinking” we use to solve more practical problems like a road block.

If I were to park, idle, or wait, since I live in Wisconsin (and road construction projects seem to average three years) I would likely starve or freeze while sitting in my car and waiting for the road block to leave. Many people starve their dreams or freeze on the path to achievement, versus rethinking the approach.

I have always loved solving puzzles – word searches, crosswords, logic problems, or the latest craze Sudoku. Even more than puzzles, I love solving daily life challenges. “What if I tried this?” “What if I looked at it from this angle?” “What if I….” I incessantly evaluate and ask questions and rethink my approach again and again until I maneuver past the block.

Your Turn:
Think of a challenge you currently face. Incorporate the process of rethinking your approach by completing the following sentence at least 10 different ways… “What if I…..” If you have a hard time getting started, brainstorm with a friend. Come up with outlandish solutions, anything to get the creativity going. Let the list sit for a day. Then highlight one approach and try it. Instead of idling when challenge comes, view it as puzzle to be solved.

Today’s Affirmation:
When faced with a challenge, I rethink my approach. I ask questions and implement answers.


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