A force field analysis will enable you to bring all your Jedi powers to bear on your process of change.
I’ve written about it before, but it deserves a post of its own.
Let the Force be with you~
Designed by psychologist Kurt Lewin in the 1940’s, a force field analysis helps you to identify where the force is with you, where it is against you, and which Jedi moves to use in any given situation.
There are 7 steps:
- First, brainstorm every single thing you can think of that is standing in the way of your successful change.
- Make a diagram like the one below, giving every barrier you’re facing a customized arrow on the ‘restraining forces’ side. A huge barrier gets a huge arrow, a tiny hurdle gets a mini-arrow.
- Next, write down everything you can think of that is working in your favor (dig deep to make this list).
- Give each of these an appropriately sized arrow on the ‘driving forces’ side.
Pause to acknowledge that the combination of these forces are keeping you stuck where you are right now~.
- It’s time to get unstuck. Think of all the ways that you can reduce or redirect the restraining arrows. You don’t need to eradicate them, just diminish their power or point them somewhere else. Write those ideas down.
- Then generate a list of ways you can strengthen the driving forces, even a little bit.
- Now you have a list of things you can do to help you change. Do these things.
Restraining Forces
My favorite quote from David Allen is from his book, Ready for Anything
Your restraining arrows are the friction: sticky elements that are preventing your ideal reality from manifesting the very moment you think of it~.
A house in Hawai’i with a waterfall lagoon and no debt and no mosquitoes…Bam!
Without restraining forces, it would appear.
The green line is your current reality. That’s where you are now, stuck in the status quo.
Your desired state is the orange line, way over there on the opposite bank, across the river of restraining arrows.
Those restraining arrows are like crocodiles, and your goal is to tame them (or distract them), so you can cross the raging restraining river to claim your heart’s desire (which really should be good health, not the Hawai’i lagoon thing).
We are usually pretty familiar with the obstacles in our lives, but if you spend some time delving in on this exercise, you might uncover some impediments that you weren’t aware of (or didn’t want to face).
Get them all out so you can figure out what to do about them.
Driving Forces
Sometimes it can be challenging to generate a comprehensive list of driving forces.
Humans have a tendency to focus on obstacles rather than assets.
If you’re having trouble, ask a friend to help you brainstorm a list of your internal & external resources and allocate appropriate sized arrows to each.
Driving forces can include behavior, attitudes & people. Helpful behaviors could be:
- Spending time with people you love;
- Being alone;
- Going for walks;
- Having anti-inflammatory food ready in the fridge or freezer;
- Getting enough sleep;
- Saying no (setting boundaries);
- Getting out into nature;
- Drinking water;
- Practicing yoga;
- Mindfulness or meditation.
Advanced Jedi Training: Suffering & Enlightenment~
While you are working on reducing the power of the restraining arrows and increasing the strength of the driving arrows, your Jedi training continues.
According to the Buddhist teachings of the four noble truths, when you don’t get what you desire, you suffer. And the only way to acheive enlightenment is through suffering.
So you can think of the time you spend wrangling the restraining crocodiles in the river between you and your dreams as your own personalized enlightenment school~.
