by Dr. SD Shanti, April 5, 2020. For translation and further details on how to use this tool, please scroll below.
- What is Inside of You: Your thoughts, emotions, feelings, and motivations.
- What You Do: Your actions and behaviors, including your interactions with other people.
- The World Around You: Your environment, which includes the people around you, the culture in which you live, the physical structures of your home, aspects of your neighborhood, and the political and economic climate in which you live and work. The elements of your environment surround you in an array of concentric circles.
Use this three-part tool whenever you feel overloaded or stuck. You can also use it if you simply want to find a new way of looking at an old problem.
How to Use this Three-Part Tool
Whenever you are stuck or stressed, ask yourself these questions:
- How can I think differently?
- Can I view this situation from a different perspective?
- What can I do differently?
- Who can help me?
- What can I change in my environment?
It might take some effort on your part to answer these questions. Allow yourself to be creative and go beyond conventional limits when seeking answers. Even if you cannot answer all of these questions, try answering one or two. The answers will give you clues for solving your problem.
Do not feel that you must use all three corners of the cartoon at once. Just begin with one corner, even if you cannot address all of them. Because the three corners are inter-connected in a two-way manner, any change you take in place can potentially have a positive impact on another corner.Remember – you always have options—and the questions above will help you find clues to solutions.
In forthcoming posts, I will share with you how people use this guide to solve situations and address challenges, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
By the way, this is my translation of science into practice, such that large numbers of people can use it in their daily lives. It is based on a landmark paper, The Self-System in Reciprocal Determinism (1978), by Professor Albert Bandura at Stanford University. And just in case you are wondering, yes he has seen it and approved it.
© Dr. SD Shanti, 2020
Prescriptions for Hope 