Either/Or, Three Years On

Last March I asked readers who journal to join me in an exercise, i.e. to re-read their journal entries from three years back and see what has shifted for them since then. Thank you to those folks who have shared the results of this exercise with me over the ensuing eleven months.

http://reflectionsfromthebellcurve.blogspot.com/2012/02/beyond-eitheror.html

For my part, the blog post directly above - related to the trap of either/or thinking - is one I could benefit re-reading every month instead of every three years; there is so much work to be done here. And a comment on that post about a "middle way" served to remind me why I began blogging in the first place - to learn from others.

Multidimensional problem solving suggests generating a minimum of six solutions for each challenge we face. In my experience, the biggest obstacle to using that approach comes when pressure and its evil twin stress enter the picture. Under those circumstances, I sometimes struggle arriving at just two solutions - an either/or - never mind six. But even when I get the two, I'm often frustrated when neither seems to work. How adept are you at generating multiple solutions to problems?

In the meanwhile, as long as I continue searching for third alternatives, at least I'm resisting either/or. I'll remain patient about #4-6.