The Miracle Question

The Miracle Question

On the 5th failed attempt to find a distraction from connecting with my thoughts and writing this post, I decided to give in. Dear Facebook, you failed me. I'm never as strong and stingy as I think I am. Truth hurts.

So with that, I sit and consider the positive. I'll start with a little background about me:

My initial desire to enroll in grad school was grounded in becoming a mental health counselor for high school students. Plans changed and I decided I wasn't up for listening as a career. So I changed my major and the long hours of studying psychology was chalked up to a "Certificate in Professional Counseling".

Every psych course I took had students examine what kind of therapy they would follow. The one that stuck with me was Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). In this model the counselor focuses less on the past and more on what is already working to build upon the current positive side of a situation. It's looking for the bright spots in relationships and in life.

This brings me to today's point: I wonder if people spend more time thinking about the past rather than searching for the glimmers that are already shining in their situation. I get stuck in yesterday. SFBT asks questions to challenge a person to look for what's working.

So here's the miracle question: If someone could wave a magic wand and you woke up tomorrow and found that things were the way it you wanted it to be, what would that look like?

What would you be doing? What's working in your life?

It's a difficult question when magnified out beyond a specific situation or relationship, but I'm reminded that focusing on what is bad doesn't move me forward. My momentum comes from getting excited about what could be.