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Study Skills : Tackling Problems
Tackling Problems: sub-module 2 of 3 of resilience
Tackling a problem productively can be difficult, but it gets results! This module will help you figure out how to best approach challenging situations.
“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” — Jimmy Dean
Tips
- Ask yourself if this is your problem.Some problems just don’t belong to you! Recognize that you do not need to tackle everyone else’s challenges for them.
- Avoid avoidance.Running away or hiding from a problem is often a tempting response, but it rarely solves anything, and can sometimes even make things worse.
- Recognize your excuses.If you identify the excuses you use to avoid a problem, you can catch yourself when these thoughts appear.
- Control your actions.While you can't always control your problems, you can control how you react to them.
- Find a new route.Some obstacles are immovable...but if you can’t go through, go around.
- Keep your eye on the prize.Remind yourself why you want to accomplish your goals or overcome your problems.
- Spread the word.Telling a mentor or a friend about what you hope to achieve may make you feel accountable, and make you more likely to achieve it.
- Think practically.It will be easier to make progress if you think of specific and realistic ways that you can solve your problem.
- Ask for help.Asking for help when you need it is important and useful when trying to solve problems.
- Talk to your instructor.If you are having difficulties with assignments, your instructor can clarify or help in other ways.
- If at first you don’t succeed, try again!Did your actions solve the problem? If your actions have not helped your situation, try acting on one of the other options that you brainstormed.
Documents
Fillable PDFs
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My Action Plan Fillable PDF - opens in a new windowUse the ADAPT Model of Active Coping to deal with a stressful situation.
text versions of activities
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Active vs. Passive Coping - opens in a new windowTest your understanding of active and passive coping strategies.
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My Action Plan - opens in a new windowUse the ADAPT Model of Active Coping to deal with a stressful situation.
Strategies for Coping with Problems
Tackling Problems
Things you can’t control:
- Mean people
- The bus arriving too early
- Computer crashes
- Illness
Things you can control:
- Your response to the things you can't control.
Example
You’re on a road trip with your best friend when you hit an unexpected roadblock. Do you…
- Turn back home?
- Blame your co-passenger?
- Yell at the roadblock until you’re so tired you need to take a nap in your car?
- Take charge and find a new route?
Chances are, you picked option 4; it’s the only useful solution. But not every situation in life is this obvious, so learning to tackle problems directly is important.
Solving Practical Problems
Problem solving involves strategies that can help you cope with problems in a productive way. Use the 5 step outline below to help you solve a challenge you are currently dealing with.
- Identify your problem and what you would like to be different.
- Brainstorm all the ways that you could solve the problem.
- Think about your choices and decide which ones are possible, reasonable, and doable.
- Follow through with the choices that are achievable.
- Evaluate your results. Did your actions solve the problem? If your actions have not helped your situation, try acting on of of the other options that you brainstormed.
Passive and active coping
There are two main ways of dealing with a problem:
- Passive coping: when you either ignore a situation or act in ways unlikely to help.
- Active coping: when you take steps towards solving a problem or improving a situation.
Active coping is generally a much more successful strategy for tackling problems.
Example
At the end of class, Maria is handed back her midterm exam and sees a big, red 47% at the top of the page. She studied hard, so she’s surprised and disappointed she did so poorly.
Two different ways Maria can approach the situation:
Passive Coping
Blinking back tears, Maria walks straight out of the classroom.
She spends the entire evening calling her professor names, eating cookie dough and watching Netflix.
In the above scenario, Maria uses passive coping strategies, reacting to her disappointment by taking actions unlikely to result in any positive change.
Active Coping
Blinking back tears, Maria takes a few deep breaths. After class, Maria goes for a run—she knows that always makes her feel better. When she gets home, she emails her professor, asking them for a meeting to get more feedback on her midterm. This way, she can figure out what specific content she is misunderstanding, and how she can improve.
Here, Maria uses active coping strategies, taking actions to improve her situation.
One important note: not all problems are fixable — for example, grieving the death of a family member. However, such problems can be managed so that their effects are less devastating. In these cases, part of active coping may involve seeing a counsellor to talk about the situation.
The ADAPT Model of active coping
The ADAPT method is a practical approach to coping with challenges by helping you Acknowledge the situation, Decide what you can control, Act on what you can, Practice self-care, and Track your progress. It encourages resilience by breaking problems into manageable steps.
Watch this video to learn about how to deal with a problem using the ADAPT Model of Active Coping.
If you don’t know how to deal with a problem, try the ADAPT Model of Active Coping. This model provides a helpful guide to think about how to best deal with a situation.
- Attitude:It might be difficult, but try to develop a capable and optimistic mindset. If this means you need to work through a few emotions, or step away from the problem for a small period of time, that’s okay! Just set a time that you will come back to your problem -- and stick to it.
- Define:Put your problem into words. Then, figure out a realistic goal to improve the situation. It might not be possible to completely undo or solve the problem, but you can usually minimize its bad effects. Your aim may not be to drive through the roadblock, but rather, find a new route.
- Alternatives:Brainstorm concrete actions that you can take to achieve your goal. Remember, these don’t need to be solutions; they might just be improvements.
- Prediction:Imagine the possible outcomes -- both good and bad -- of different actions. Certain actions may have both benefits and drawbacks, so weigh these outcomes and pick the action you think is most likely to achieve your goal.
- Try It Out:Take action and see what happens. If it wasn’t successful, at least you’ve found a strategy that doesn’t work! You may need to try again, but take comfort that you are one step closer to a solution.
For help using the ADAPT Model to cope with a stressful situation, check out the activity below or complete the My Action Plan Fillable PDF - opens in a new window.