Dealing with tough situations

 Navigating tough situations is always a challenge in life, and no matter how old you are, where you live, how much money you have or what you do, you will face tough situations from time to time. What doesn't work is to constantly cry out for solutions or complain--what does work is to deal with tough situations in strategic ways. Yet, know that I'm a fan of a bit of crying out and complaining as that brings the issue to the forefront and sometimes does attract good advice and solutions. Then you have to move to the next steps:

1. Acknowledge the problem with as much specificity as possible. Write about it in a journal with detail. 
2. Read and reread your written description and then prioritize the points with regard to what's most confusing and challenging. 
3. Try to figure out the confusing parts if possible.
4. Write your dream resolve of the problem. 
5. Notice the difference between the reality and your dream response. 
6. Then think of a solution that you can live with--what you can do to make the situation better even if you can't fit it. 
7. Try it out, revise as needed all the while realizing that you can't be superhuman or solve all problems. 

I'm going to try this strategy out with an old problem that was challenging for me. 

1. The problem had to do with a supervisor who didn't agree with my teaching/learning priorities. 
2. What was confusing was why she believed what she believed and did what she did--it didn't make sense to me, and what was most challenging for me is that her ways in many ways didn't result in best learning for all students. 
3. In hindsight, I wish I had made an appointment to sit down with this person and ask her to tell me more about her approach and decisions--perhaps if I understood her rationale more, I could have worked better with her and her dictates. 
4. I never really wrote out my dream resolve for this situation--I wish I had. 
5. In many ways I kept beating on the same drum, rather than working strategically to find a good resolve. 
6. I'm looking forward to trying out this strategy with current situations so I navigate challenges in my midst better.