Got a problem you want to solve? DO IT!


Posted on October 7th, by Dr Rob Yeung .

Confidence: Transform the way you feel so you can achieve the things you wantMy Confidence book is one of my all-time bestsellers. And the publisher asked me this year to add some content to it so that we could give readers the very best advice in the revised and updated 3rd edition.

Readers have told me that one of their favourite techniques from the book is what I call the ‘DO IT’ problem solving method.

DO IT is a simple method for thinking through options when you’re faced with a problem or a worrying situation. Perhaps you’re faced with a tough project at work or you’re stuck with a personal problem that is keeping you awake at night.

So what do you do?  Well, you follow these four steps:

  1. Definition – begin by writing down some notes about the problem or situation you’re facing. It’s easy to go around and around in circles if you’re trying to solve a problem in your head. Often, writing some notes about it allows us to become more clear about the issue.
  2. Options – spend at least a few minutes having a solo brainstorm about possible options. Come up with as many ideas as you can for dealing with the situation. Sure, some of them may seem silly initially, but they may spark other, better ideas. So write everything that comes to mind!
  3. Impacts – Once you’ve got at least 6 options (from step 2) should you try to evaluate the impacts of each option.  What’s the impact of each option?  Work out the answers to two questions: How easy would it be to put the option into practice? And how effective would it be?
  4. Try it – finally, pick whichever of the options comes out on top in terms of both ease and effectiveness.  Even if there’s not a clear winning option, it’s often better to do something than to do nothing. So try it. Give it a go. It may work. But even if it doesn’t, doing something may often give you further insight into the nature of your situation – you may get further ideas about how to tackle it.

And that’s all there is to it!

I’m not saying that the DO IT method will help you in every single situation.  But hopefully it will help you to work through the challenges you’re facing in a constructive way.  That’s at least better than just worrying about something, right?





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