by Penny Dablin

1. Where are you now? Fully define your problem from all angles – really understand where you are now. And take full responsibility for the problem – whoever else might be involved, you can only change your behaviour and your outcome. And only if you take complete responsibility for your actions.
2. Relax and accept that this is how the situation is, right now. Resisting it will only make it more difficult to overcome. Accepting the situation as it is, is the first step to being able to change it.
3. What do you want? Fully define the ideal, best possible solution to your problem. This is blue sky thinking – the sky is the limit! Ignore any perceived difficulties to having what you want. Ignore any objections that you come up with.
4. Identify any limiting beliefs that could be stopping you moving towards your ideal outcome. Are these beliefs True? Can you absolutely KNOW that they are true? Who would you be without these beliefs?
5. Create empowering beliefs that would support you in achieving your ideal outcome and make them into PPPP affirmations – Present tense, Positively worded, Personal and Powerful.
6. What resources do you currently have? These could be skills, knowledge, belongings etc. And what skills or knowledge can you develop?
7. Who do you know who could help? Relatives, friends, acquaintances, colleagues at work. You never know who might be in a position to help.
8. Who else might be able to help? People you don’t yet know but could contact – libraries, social groups, trades unions, professionals, friends of people you do know.
9. What is one tiny step you could take towards your ideal outcome? A tiny action you could take right now?
10. Take that step…

Then repeat steps 9 to 10 until the outcome is achieved. Repeat any of the other steps as necessary. Be willing to modify and update your goal if that seems more appropriate.