In the past few years, as I have pursued my professional goals, I have written many blogs, books, book chapters, articles and so on. However, this one is one of the most emotional I have ever written.

This because, this work that I do and teach is just not what I do professionally, this is just not a job for me. The best way I could say it is to say that this is my ministry. As I travel throughout the country and around the world I am doing to my very best to not just teach the “techniques” associated with the Solution Focused Approach, but also the essence of this way of working. Believe me when I tell you, it is hard work to teach this.

This is an approach that is about helping people to focus on the very best of themselves so they can use those resources to create a more desirable future for themselves. The “techniques” of the Solution Focused Approach are just the vehicles to accomplish this. So, the focus should not be on the questions of the clinician, it should instead be on the client answers to those questions that help them begin to think about their own resources and how they can use those resources to move their lives forward toward their biggest dreams. We should not be studying the techniques in our attempts to learn this method; we should be studying hope and people as that is the true essence of this way of working, hope and people.

This morning I woke up with the very simple ambition of resting, I truly just wanted to do nothing and be lazy. I have had a long month filled with lots of travel and unfortunately not enough time enjoying being at home and around my wife. Then, because nothing ever really goes as planed, inspiration hit me. As I was relaxing on my couch watching television I saw a story that captured the ideas that I have been teaching and I became inspired to share it with you.

This is a brief (less than 4 minutes) video about people describing their best day. As you watch this video observe the emotions each person experiences as they describe their best days, this is the true essence of SFBT.

This video touched me: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=11924279&ex_cid=sportscenterFB

Warmly,

Elliott Connie