Hello friends, happy Sunday!👋🏽
Here at Sunday Morning Rounds, we're all about solving problems🤨. In the past we've discussed various ways of doing this, such as using the five why's.
But have you ever gotten so deep into a problem to the point where you just can't crack it😫? How can we possibly solve the problem at that point?
One thing worth trying is creating some separation📏.
This is the premise behind something called Psychological Distancing.
Psychological distancing is the idea of creating space between ourselves and our thoughts🎭. The idea of course comes from psychology, where it is frequently applied to emotional responses such as removing oneself from an argument😡.
The hope is that by taking a step back from a situation, we allow those intense feelings we were experiencing to disperse👋🏻. We can then reflect on them🤔, reframe them🔁, and return with a better approach👍🏾.
These strategies aren't only useful for arguments though; psychological distancing can be an effective strategy in a variety of situations. For example, say a medical student has an upcoming anatomy exam💀. They're feeling a lot of stress, starting to panic, and running through scenarios of what might happen if they fail😨.
Then that meds student tries psychological distancing. They remove themselves from that stressful environment and do something more enjoyable🎈. During that time, the student realizes that studying for this exam is well within their control, and even if they don't do as well as they'd hope, this one exam doesn't define their entire life✅.
Psychological distancing can turn a terrible situation into a more hopeful one!😃
The 'distancing' part can be anything from taking time away from a situation🕑 to taking physical distance by doing activities like going for a walk🚶or taking a shower🚿. For me personally, during some long days of studying in the med school library or long days at the hospital🏥, taking a quick walk alone or with a friend was a great reset to get through the rest of the day👯. That's psychological distancing!
One area where I employ psychological distancing nowadays is when I'm writing a personal statement or responding to short answer questions on an application📝. If I'm not careful, I'll proofread what I'm writing again and again and try to dissect what the person reading it might think...it gets exhausting😪!
Instead, after I'm done with my writing I'll immediately stop🛑 (I won't even review it) and leave it alone until the next day or even weeks later if I can🗓️. By the time I return to it, my views on that position or question have become more refined and I feel more confident in my response😊.
Psychological distancing can help us to tackle stressful or other emotionally charged situations with a cleared head and a refreshed point of view🌈.
So the next time you find yourself trapped in a problem with no end in sight, simply try moving away from it🏃♀️➡️. You may be surprised at the solutions you come up with!
🩵 Something I love: My Sony noise cancelling headphones are amazing at helping me to block out my environment and focus on deep work and productivity.
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