What is your preferred frame of mind when facing challenges in professional- or personal life? Are you attracted to the notion of problems that want to be solved or do you see an outcome, an opportunity that wants to be realized? If you want to convince co-workers or yourself to change it can be helpful to switch to »opportunity mode«.

You know you are problem focused when the main part of activities in change initiatives circle around questions like the following:

• What is the problem?
• Who or what caused it?
• What is the root cause?
• What consequences does this problem have?
• What is the solution?

Of cause problems, root-causes and effects are important. But look what a difference it makes if you approach them from a slightly different angle:

• What would an ideal state without the problem look like? (What do you want?)
• What options do you have to get there?
• What else will you have when you get there?
• What do you need to get there?
• What are the immediate next steps?

Doesn’t this sound much better than the »problem version«? I for myself seem to be an instinctive problem solver. By forcing myself to focus on the goal and the benefits linked to reaching it motivating myself has become much easier (most of the times). Using this »mind hack« in professional life helped to motivate stakeholders by avoiding being paralysed by mounting stacks of problems and doubt in early stages of change.

What do you think? All mumbo-jumbo or would you give it a try?