Are you assuming some things aren’t important simply because you don’t want to factor them into your thinking? Include in your thinking about the “what is” all those things Heinlein’s Fair Witnesses would include.

First, select a situation or an area of your life to explore and jot down a few words to describe it.

When you’re clarifying the “what is” relative to a challenge you’ve defined, ask yourself whether you’re being a Fair Witness.

THE ACTUAL CHALLENGE

Discovering the real problem—the core challenge in a given situation—is the necessary preamble to this definition.

SORT FOR IMPACT:

people often propose solutions to problems before they’re clear on what the problem is.

Similarly, distinguishing those facts or events that most impact the current situation from those that don’t is an important part of getting clear about “what is.”

LEARNING TO DO THIS