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The Bulletin for Being

How do I solve my problems? A guide to finding the magic pill

Published 8 months ago • 1 min read

If you were offered a 'Magic Pill', what would it solve for you?

I find people often come to my workshops and one to one coaching in the hope of this elusive magic pill.

I usually respond in two ways: 1. how amazing (and profitable!) it would be to be able to dish those out, and 2. if you’re willing to put in the work, then YES, we can create one for you.

Even with a familiar medicine like paracetamol, it doesn’t work for everyone. In good quality trials* of a single 1,000 mg dose for acute post operative pain, only about 1 in 4 people get meaningful pain relief over the next few hours – what researchers call an “NNT of about 4”.

What I’m getting at is this: even if I did have a magic pill to hand you, the odds of one generic pill working perfectly for everyone are pretty slim.

The real “magic” is in defining the exact challenge you want to change, then tailoring the contents of the pill to your life, your context, and your strengths.

That’s essentially what we do in coaching: we co create your personal pill – a set of small, testable shifts and practices – designed specifically for the reality you’re living in, not for an imaginary average person.

One of my own “magic pills” is cold water swimming

It reliably boosts my mood and resilience. For me, it is like a full reset. However, I know for many of you, just reading that might make you shudder!

That’s the point: someone else’s pill might be the wrong dose, or the wrong medicine, for you.

So, if there were such a thing as a magic pill for your resilience or wellbeing right now:

– What specific challenge would it be designed to help with?

– What one small, realistic action could be an ingredient in your pill this week?

If you’d like a thinking partner to help you design and test your own pill, I’m here, in my metaphorical scientist outfit, experimenting with people all the time.

Sheela

*Source: Barden et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2004 (single dose oral paracetamol; outcome: at least 50% pain relief over 4–6 hours)​

Would you like to join in some free experiments to find your 'pill' while you wait?

Sheela Hobden

www.bluegreencoaching.com

Image appreciation to Julia Zolotova ​

The Bulletin for Being

Travellers’ notes on being well in a crazy world!

Sheela is a playful, creative coach, mentor coach, coach supervisor, educator, and researcher who loves to explore the complexities of BEING. Being WELL is a choice. She founded The TRAVEL Framework as a navigation tool for life and work.

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