The way it could be vs the way it has to be

Photo by ian dooley on Unsplash

Einstellung is an important word that I often reflect upon when I coach.

Simply put, it’s a fancy word for blinkers, and it’s a trap I see people fall into often. The idea you already have in your head, the story you have told yourself over and over about that event, that situation, that conversation, is probably the exact thing that's preventing you from imagining a better, or just different, solution.

We all have doubts, fears, and regrets, just as we all have hopes, dreams, and desires. Unfortunately, it’s the former that tend to live as a heavy boulder on our shoulders when we try to imagine a new future, a better way forward for us and our businesses. Its a form of the lizard brain kicking right in first and fast, telling you why something isn’t possible, at least not by you.

The good news is that just by understanding that Einstellung is a thing in the world, means we can take a hold of it, turn it over, examine it and make plans to get around it.

Heres are three was I recommend to people whom I spot donning the blinkers, and doing the “it has to be this way” dance:

1) What if X wasn’t true? What changes?
2) What would you do if you didn’t have the fear of X? Whats possible then?
3) If you saw someone else in your situation, what would you suggest they do?

Things could be different, in any way you can imagine.