Somehow, it always feels easier to solve other people’s problems. The answer is so loud, it practically hits us in the face. It’s so easy to give advice. 

Yet when it comes to our own… not so much. 

It’s difficult to come up with a plan, to see our own weaknesses, to get outside of the emotional experience. That’s why coaches, therapists, and books are incredibly valuable; if you allow them, they will get you to see outside of yourself for a brief amount of time. 

One of my favorite prompts, for myself, is to ask what I would recommend if a friend were facing the same situation I was, or to someone else facing an extreme version of the situation.

How should they go about forming a solution? What would I recommend they think about? What would be a potential strategy? Where should they start? 

That’s definitely not an alternative to professional help—but it can be a starting point, or augmentation, for some of the thinking that you can do in addition to your work.