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Catalytic Thinking’s true power is to turn vision into reality. Guided by the Pollyanna Principle that “Unless something is physically impossible, it is possible,” the questions of Catalytic Thinking transform the seemingly impossible into an achievable goal.

That happens by aiming beyond the lack of the thing we don’t want. It is instead about aiming at the presence of the calm and joy and health and fairness that we DO want. Because what we pay attention to grows.

There is a big difference between the lack of something bad and the presence of something good. That’s why, when the conversation started at burnout, it quickly became about resilience.

If our workplaces (and our lives!) were places of resilience, burnout wouldn't even be an issue. From the definition Jackie and Madeline shared, folks would have what they need to thrive. Gaps would be filled by others who have what someone else does not have. And the systems would be set up to encourage and support that.

What it takes to get there is, therefore, to simply follow the questions of Catalytic Thinking.

1. Who will be affected by a culture of resilience?
2. What is important to all those people? What do they aspire to? What is already strong and resilient about their lives and their work?
3. What would systems look like if they were supporting and encouraging resilience? What would it feel like? What would we see and hear?
4. What would need to be in place for that vision of resilience to be reality? What would people need to have? What would they need to be assured of? What would they need to know?
5. What actions can we take to create those conditions, to provide people with what they need?

As you think about each of those questions, flesh out what you see in the answers. Really SEE it.

For example, for Question 3, you might name systems such as on-boarding processes or employee evaluation processes. Beyond just naming those systems, though, dig deep. What might each of those systems embody? What might they feel like?

The same for all the questions. Flesh out your vision of what resilience would look like. Flesh out the conditions that would lead to that image (e.g. not just “trust” but “What would trust look like? How would we know there was trust?”)

From there, the answers will become clear. Whether we are talking about burnout in the workplace, or the dismantling of democracy, the questions are the same. And the solutions become clear as we flesh out those answers. It all starts by looking beyond the problem, to the desired state we wish to create.

During this time in our global history, it is easy to get mired in all the problems we are facing. Those problems are real. They are devastating. We must fight those problems with all that we have.

Our real power, though, lies in what is on the other side, once those problems are gone. Aiming at that positive state is our superpower, solving our problems on the way to creating what we do want. Because what we pay attention to grows.

That is the road to resilience. Fighting FOR, not just fighting against. Fighting FORWARD, not just fighting back. And that is the power of  Catalytic Thinking.