Current e-Journal
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March 31, 2026
How to move from “thinking about it” to “doing it”
In this week’s Systems Change Newsletter…
- Invitations and Announcements
- Catalytic Thinking Exercise: How to move from “Thinking about it” to Doing it”
- Resources to Further Your Practice
Invitations & Announcements:
Be the Consultant who gets the gig!
These days, with uncertainty as the backdrop of everyday life, organizational leaders are having a harder time making decisions. In this environment, what can you do to help clients move beyond what’s stopping them? That is the topic of the next class in our consultants-only webinar series. Find the answer here…
Catalytic Thinking Exercise:
How to move from “thinking about it” to “doing it”
What moves someone from “thinking about taking action” to actually taking that first step?
Reluctance to change, to do something new – that’s pretty normal. Our brains crave predictability and safety. Trying something new can leave us feeling vulnerable, uncertain.
Our brains also crave belonging. And if that “new thing” includes speaking up in a meeting or in conversation with a manager or supervisor, our need to fit in can overide our desire to step into the unkown.
We see this a lot with our newsletter readers. Yes, you!. Here’s what that sounds like…
I read your newsletter. I share it with everyone I know!
That’s great! What have you been putting into practice?
Silence. “I haven’t actually done so yet.”
And then, often there is a story: “Last week my manager told us that she will be drafting the RFP for our new program, and that she will be writing it herself, because 'all RFP’s are pretty much the same.' I wanted to ask if she would consider consulting with the people who will be affected by that RFP, but I didn’t feel it was my place.”
If this sounds like you, you are not alone. There is immense pressure to conform to group norms. And asking a different question can feel clunky, because trying something new often feels clunky.
The same holds true for doing any sort of organizational change work, where a group asks for help with a problem, only to later decide to stick with the devil they know. And face it: we all do this in our own lives. We know we need to get more exercise or eat better or quit smoking… but for some reason, we just don’t take action.
So in this week’s newsletter, let’s talk about putting the conditions in place for you to take the first step into your potential!
Try this
In the language of Catalytic thinking, getting past what’s stopping you is about establishing favorable conditions for you to take action. This is actually not about what is stopping you – just the opposite. When we’re feeling like something is stopping us, we stop.
Instead, this is about identifying the affirmative conditions that will lead to you get going. What needs to be in place for you to take action?
The questions of Catalytic Thinking can guide you, and especially the questions related to how you feel.
- What do you need to be assured of, in order to take action?
- What do you need to feel?
- What do you need to experience?
- What do you need to have?
Let’s use the simple example of taking action on the practice exercises in this newsletter, especially if the setting is one where you do not have positional authority. What would you need to be assured of, in order to ask a question that might change the trajectory of such a conversation? What would you need to experience?
Perhaps you might need to feel confident in asking the question.
In order to feel confident, perhaps you might need to experience success with asking these questions.
And in order to have experience, you might need to have practice.
Suddenly we start to see small steps we can take to have that practice.
- Perhaps it is finding opportunities to practice in settings with less of a power dynamic – perhaps with a family member.
- Or perhaps it is about asking these questions of yourself every day as you think about the day ahead – as you prep for a staff meeting, or a meeting with a client.
- Or perhaps it is about forming a community of practice with coworkers who also read this newsletter (or who are all seeking to exercise more, or whatever the issue is), to support each other as you step into practicing.
The thing about these actions is that they are specific to you and what you need in order to be successful – conditions for your success, not some generic list. And to uncover those conditions, all it takes is stepping backwards from the ultimate goal, allowing cause-and-effect to guide you. That is the power of Catalytic Thinking to create change in any aspect of your life and your work!
Resources to Further Your Practice:
- LEARN: Consultants: Do your clients seem stuck in a loop, with all sorts of reasons they can’t get past the things that are stopping them? If so, what can you do to un-stuck them? Watch this short video here…
- WATCH: This TEDx talk provides an easy-to-grasp example of identifying conditions for success. Watch it here…
- LISTEN: Want to get past the challenges and obstacles that are stopping you? Stop thinking of them as challenges and obstacles! Here’s how to do it…
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