Identify the problem
Last week I invited you to reflect on four main areas of your life and take a mental note of which parts of your life were lacking. We used the image of a dashboard to get a better idea of how full your tank is in each one of those areas.
This week, I invite you to identify one problem that you would like to tackle in either one of those areas – what seems the most pressing right now? Is there something you would like to change regarding your health? Or may be your work situation is more important right now? Or may be you need to concentrate on a particular relationship in your life? Or may be you need to find a hobby so that you could do something just for fun?
HOW TO: Do Assess Your State meditation, and in the process, zero in on one thing that seems most important right now. Formulate it in one sentence in very specific terms. For example, you could say “I feel too lethargic every day,” or “I feel overwhelmed at work,” or “I feel isolated from my professional community,” etc.
After you identify the problem, ask yourself if this is an “actionable” problem, or a “gravity” problem. Actionable problem is the one that you can do something about (Ex. Take a daily walk to feel less lethargic, create a three-item to-do list to feel less overwhelmed at work, find local events that cater to your professional community, etc.). “Gravity” problem is not really a problem, but a situation, circumstance or a fact of life (Ex. Yoga teachers are not paid enough, my father is very critical of me, every year I am getting older, etc.) We cannot immediately do anything about gravity problems; we can accept them as facts of life and try to work around them.
If your problem turns out to be a gravity problem, try to reframe it into an actionable problem (Ex. What other streams of revenue can I find as a yoga teacher? How can I minimize the impact my father’s disapproval has on me? What steps can I take to feel strong and vital as I get older?) Throughout the week, practice reframing other gravity problems into actionable ones.
