A creative approach to solving dilemmas

{ The first in a new series of Clarity Tips for Creatives } 

As a balance-loving Libra, I have a tendency to weigh up ALL the options.

Which can be a well-rounded approach to any situation, but doesn’t always make for the most decisive action.

Introducing…

Best of Both Thinking

Best of Both Thinking is an empowering and creative approach to solving dilemmas.

Here’s how it works;

Let’s say you are torn between two seemingly opposing choices, let’s call them Option A and Option B.

There’s a reason why you can’t easily choose between them; you want the best of both!

There’s something about Option A that you really want or need, even at the potential cost of Option B.

And yet Option B also has something about it that you’re not prepared or ready to give up.

What to do?

If, at first glance, it was possible to have both, there would be no dilemma, you’d simply choose both.

And yet… here’s where your role as a creative being comes in.

What if there is a way that you can have both?

Or at least, the aspects of both that are most important for you?

Mysterious Option C

Allow me to introduce my decision-making ally; Mysterious Option C

There’s a saying that for every problem there is a solution, and that solution already exists, at least as a possibility.

So, for any seeming dilemma, instead of the tug-of-war angst trying to weigh up the pros and cons of each of the obvious options, let’s get creative!

Let’s imagine a solution that ticks all the boxes, instead of trying to convince yourself you can live without some of the boxes that are clearly important to you. (Otherwise, there would be no angst around the decision)

Here’s how to do it…

Best of Both Thinking

MAKING SPACE FOR MYSTERIOUS OPTION C

Step 1:

See if you can identify what it is about Option A that you most want or need.

Make a list or mindmap or what really matters to you.

This list may not include all the aspects of the option, just the essentials that are most tugging at your heart or mind.

And see if you can get to the core essence of the need or desire, what is really pulling or calling you?

HINT: It’s usually a deeper emotion than the surface scenario.

• • •

Step 2:

Do the same for Option B.

• • •

Step 3:

When you have your list of core essentials, these are the requirements for Mysterious Option C.

Now, for this final step;

Just imagine that there is an Option C, ie a third alternative that includes the best of both scenarios…

• • •

That’s all you have to do to open your mind to a new possibility or solution that is a happy (or acceptable) combination of both sides of your dilemma.

Now depending on how important these aspects are to you, or depending on the impact of your decision, staying open to your new solution make require some time and perseverance, and faith.

But, if the solution already exists, it is available.

So, if you choose (and if you have time), you can keep seeking it until a version arrives that you feel better about.

Solving dilemmas: A Case Study

Let’s bring this to life with an example from my recent studies…

I was recently tempted to invest in an educational opportunity that was beyond my current budget.

I really wanted to do this training.

And yet, the payment plan would have added some future financial pressures that I wasn’t comfortable with.

(I’ve learned that dharma wealth and abundance flow to me much more easily when I have very little financial pressure, so I do my best to maintain that scenario).

In this scenario, my Option A was to sign up for the programme.

Pro: I get to enjoy the training.

Con: I have to spend the next few months dealing with additional financial pressure.

And my Option B was to not sign up for the programme.

Pro: No additional unwanted pressure.

Con: I don’t get to benefit from the training, as well as denying what I knew was an inspired call to do the work.

Time to get creative…

I began to wonder; would be my ideal solution?

What could be the Mysterious (as yet unidentified) Option C…?

For me, the ideal solution was that I get to do the programme without the unwanted pressure on my finances in the months ahead.

I decided that this third option, as yet unknown, was my ultimate preference.

And so I stayed open for glimmers of that option to reveal itself.

I didn’t have to wait very long.

I was listening to one of my favourite coaches share how she LOVED to pay for everything in advance.

She viewed it as an act of both self-growth and self-care – she took the sometimes scary step beyond her comfort zone to pay in full, and then she got to enjoy the experience in pure receiving mode, relaxed in the knowing it was all bought and paid for.

(Hello peace of mind… And given what I know about that relaxed state; Hello abundance magnet!)

As I listened, something clicked within me – I remembered back to times when I’d booked restaurants, holidays or spa trips, and how I always experienced the ones that were paid in advance at a higher level of enjoyment and relaxation.

I realised that I too LOVE to pay for things in advance – because it changes the quality of the experience.

I then had this epiphany confirmed to me by the universe by a TV ad with the slogan; How you pay matters.

Voila!

My Mysterious Option C had arrived: the solution for the training programme that I’d felt so called to do was to sign up for it AND pay for it in advance.

This was my soul-soothing Best of Both option.

And I knew it was right because it felt good.

It felt like the right route for me.

I knew clearly what the solution was, all I had to do was to trust that I would be able to make that happen.

(This is where QU Power is handy.)

So, my dilemma was over and I had a clear, inspiring new plan.

All I needed to do next was get creative and find ways to bring my happy newly-revealed Option C solution to life.

Again, this next step can still be a challenge, but it has a much more empowered and proactive energy and intention than being stuck in a dilemma.

With hindsight, this solution may seem obvious, and it does now seem like such an Of course, why didn’t I think of that before? scenario. (As many of the best solutions do, once they have arrived.)

But when we’re stuck in the limited parameters of Either/Or thinking, we close our minds to a third alternative that just might hold all the benefits we are seeking.

“Something in us longs for the impossible
because we know it’s actually possible.” 

~ TAMA J KIEVES

How to solve dilemmas: Adopt Best of Both Thinking

So the simple answer to how to solve dilemmas is to adopt Best of Both Thinking.

It’s both a creative and empowering approach, and I invite you to try this Best of Both strategy to any pressing dilemmas that are disturbing your peace.

Is there a quandary that has got you spinning in circles or stuck in frustration?

Can you identify the aspects of both scenarios that you’re trying to achieve or enjoy?

And then, can you begin to imagine that there just might be a solution that allows you to have the best of both?

Because once that solution arrives, you have a clear view of what’s required.

While your Best of Both solution may require some ingenuity and faith to bring about, at least you are back in your creative power, armed with clarity and determination, a much more empowered place than dithering in doubt and dilemma.

And if you find that you then need help in bringing your Ultimate Solution to life – I highly recommend cultivating the Quietly Unstoppable mindset.

Because with this inner quality in place, you’ll spend much less time in the future trying to choose between Option A and Option B.

You’ll simply remember your creative power to imagine the Best of Both solution, and then set about making it happen – like the empowered, unlimited and infinitely capable creative being that you are.

So, I hope you find this potent little shift helpful!

And I would LOVE to hear how you get on if you choose to give it a go. 🙂

So, if a core of calm and unshakeable confidence appeals to you, there are more details here.