“If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”

To build autonomy, create a ‘how web’.

Autonomy is about options. There is almost always choice when it comes to how we think about our life and the challenges we face. Completing a ‘how web’ can help us see our problem from different perspectives and understand the different choices we can make in a given situation. To complete a ‘how web’ with your child, help them think through their problem with these different perspectives:

  • Find similarities – has something similar ever happened? What did you do then? What worked?
  • Break it down further – can the problem be broken down into smaller steps? What’s the first small action you could take?
  • Challenge assumptions – is there anything I’m believing about this issue that may not be true?
  • Ask an expert – who could help me with this?
  • Beginner’s mind – can I clear my mind of everything I think I know and look at the problem from a beginner’s perspective?
  • Be honest – what’s really bothering me? Are there feelings I’m not addressing or seeing?
  • Set small goals – ask ‘what’s the hard part?’ to break what can seem like a big problem into something more manageable.

Download a PDF copy of this infographic here.