Stuck? Need help getting unstuck? Teresa Norton’s “A Simple Exercise to Help You Get Unstuck‘” is a great exercise which she describes in her blog post in the Harvard Business Review. This is a terrific exercise that does so much more than helping to get you unstuck. It is a great way to deal with many problems and situations. It has helped me get unstuck, discuss problems with my children, and focus on what I need to do in the future.
Teresa’s blog talks about a Story Spine — a tool developed by Ken Adams for improvisers. The basic structure is:
Once there was…
And every day…
Until one day…
And because of that…
And because of that…
And because of that…
Until finally…
And so…
You can make up your own story and create your own ending. There’s something about a telling a story that makes it less personal and more interesting. It is a great way to change the way you think about a problem or challenge and help you write your own ending. Storytelling is both a great way to communicate and a great way to help solve problems. People have written about the primal power of storytelling, and how to use storytelling for competitive advantage. Teresa’s suggestion is to use storytelling to help you explain what has happened in a way that enables you to create your own positive ending. It’s a great approach and I highly recommend it.
