“Effective problem solving requires setting clear goals; identifying emotional barriers (hooks) that may prevent goals from being accomplished; and identifying the small sequential steps needed to fulfill the goal”.
-Managing Pain Before It Manages You, Margaret Caudill, MD, PhD

Setting Goals
Reminders:

A goal should be measurable. Can you evaluate when the goal has been reached?
A goal should be realistic. Is it possible to achieve, even when in pain?
A goal should be behavioral. Does it involve specific actions or steps to take?
A goal should be “I”-centered. Are you the one engaging in the actions or behaviors to be measured?
A goal should be desirable. Do you want the outcome enough to put forth the effort?

The Emotional Hook
Cognitive distortions – like the big vaudeville hooks that pulled bad acts off the stage

     Can be challenged in the same way negative self-talk is challenged

Identifying the Barriers to Accomplishing Your Goals

Break down into the many small steps you will need to take in order to reach the bigger goal.

Make Contingency Plans: define in terms of possible obstacles and their solutions

Assessing Your Ways of Coping and Applying Them to Problems
Physical Ways of Coping:
Aerobic exercise
Pacing
RR techniques
Emotion-focused coping skills:
RR techniques
Capturing negative self-talk and challenging it
Assertiveness
Problem-focused coping skills:
Setting goals
Seeking Pleasurable Activities
Brainstorming with friends
Seeking social supportWrite down a goal that you have for the next 6 months:

When you think about why you haven’t accomplished this goal up to now or why you think it might be difficult, what do you feel? For example: overwhelmed, anxious, fearful.

What kind of self-talk do you find yourself saying when you think about this emotion or the difficulty of the goal? For example, “I can’t do it. What if I fail?”

Next, identify the source of the self-talk in terms of distortions, catastrophizing, avoidance, denial, and irrational beliefs. Cognitive distortion or irrational beliefs/Negative attitudes:

Next, challenge the thoughts that are unrealistic and reflect on the reality of the situation. What can you do and what do you need? If you get stuck, use the vertical arrow technique.

Take your goal and break it down into the steps you will need to take to reach it. Be as specific as you can, dividing each step into smaller steps whenever necessary.