Gem: The 4 Keys to Self-Government

How well are you doing at problem solving?

Albert Einstein said,

The significant problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.

If rising to a new level of thinking is the solution, then the question becomes “How do we do that?”

This week’s Gem is about the 4 Key of Self-Government, which are

Analyze
Make a plan (a goal, a statement, and a skill set)

The pattern for a skill-set (to use after the analysis and plan) is: stop, think, choose, act, and report

Act deliberately (stop – not an emotional reaction – be assertive)
Communicate effectively (report)

As we work through this process to re-wire our brains, we will feel ourselves rising to a new level of thinking to be better equipped to solve our current and future problems.

In my own case, as I have worked through this process more this past week I have seen how readily I am able to make changes in my actions and stick to the commitments I make.

After I did this, these are some of the questions that were helpful for me:

What is your problem? Describe it. What happens first, what happens next, and what are the results? Why are you not happy with the results?

As you go through this process, don’t try necessarily try to do each step like a school assignment. Let your heart lead you in what to write. First ask the questions to yourself, second put your pen on the paper, and third write whatever comes into your mind. Free write, and let the questions, ideas, or thoughts flow. When you get to a stopping point look at the steps again and see where you need to go next. If you have internal static when it comes to writing (meaning all the thoughts that tell you why you shouldn’t write) then push them aside and remember this only needs to make sense to you.

The process of writing is so key to your learning self-government. I think of the mind like a big ocean of thought. Most of the time we don’t even know what is going on in the great deep of our minds, let alone understand it. During the process of writing, we are able to first take one of thought, like a fish, out of the ocean, second to look at it, and then third see what to do with it. Writing helps unseen things in our minds and hearts become seen in our lives.

One last tip: before you begin your challenge assignment, it would be helpful to schedule a quiet time to be alone, eliminate distractions, and push pause on life for a little while.

So remember that problem you recognized last week? Now is the time to schedule your time to get it out and analyze it. If you listen to this segment and decide there is something else you need to analyze, then do it. Be sure to ask for help if you need to know how to analyze, make a plan, act deliberately and communicate effectively. Nicholeen answers questions weekly on the live mentoring call for the Implementation Course.