What is at the top of your problem hierarchy?

I believe we all have a problem hierarchy, whether we are aware of it or not. There is always a problem at the top of the list that you are facing at any given moment, the thing that has taken up most of your thinking time recently or the thing that is causing the most trouble, pain, or negativity in your life. There may be two or more things at the top, but there is usually one slightly worse than the others.

What I did recently and what I want to encourage you to do, is to write down your problem hierarchy.

What is your number one problem at the moment, then what comes in second place, then third, then fourth… and so on. As you write your list you might find the order changes and it doesn’t need to be perfect or exact, the hierarchy will fluctuate over time.

Once you have your rough list, you can try to answer this question for each problem.

What am I going to do to overcome this problem?

Start brainstorming. What systems can you put in place? What can you start or stop? What small changes can you make to your environment or your routines?

I find we often shy away from our biggest problems because of just that… they are big! They are overwhelming and have usually plagued us longer than other problems and so it seems as though nothing will resolve them.

But you might surprise yourself if you take this opportunity to focus on one problem at a time and actively work on ways to solve them. It might not be easy but you’re more likely to overcome the problem by actively working on it, than ignoring it and hoping it will disappear!

This exercise will also provide clarity. Even if there is no easy solution to your current problems, at least you can be clear on what is causing negativity in your life and can practice self-compassion surrounding your interaction and exposure to these problems. There will be a solution! It might time, it might take trial and error, but be confident that you will find a way forward.