No, we are not “flipping the bird” or your middle finger to a problem (or a person-a big distinction btw). Although…this may temporarily relieve some emotional distress and tension, possibly feeling good in the moment. AND it might also fall into the column of “how can I make things worse?”, which I’ll explain.
I think of it as a fun little game I call the “F-it-up then Flip it” approach.
That’s right!
You get to use your creativity and imagination and have a real go at it (in writing and brainstorming, not behaviour or action!)
Yes…. a fun activity where you get to first mess things up even more……
Imagine the possibilities!
In this article I will share:
- How the F-it-up then Flip-it activity works and its role in the problem-solving cycle
- How to use this activity as a tool for you to create and invent options and possible solutions to a variety of problems
- Examples of how and where you can use this activity including problems associated with decision making, goal-setting, and relationship conflict
So, ready to mess things up?
So, What Is The F-it-Up then Flip-It Approach?
Now this is not a new idea. It is a creative problem-solving approach referred to as reverse or “backwards brainstorming” and often used in the corporate world. I am just marketing it in a different way and putting my own spin on it, demonstrating how it can be used in a wide variety of areas outside of the just the corporate world in which problems can grow.
They seem to grow well in a lot of landscapes, particularly our minds😊
You can flip anything, really.
A behavior, emotion, thought, belief, an attitude!
Once you have recognized and identified what the problem is, you enter some brainstorming but instead of coming up with ways to solve or work through your problem/situation, you start by asking, well, how can I make things even worse?
I know, it can sound a bit perplexing at first, but this is what we want. It forces your brain to redirect its focus and approach things from a completely different approach to what it might be trained to do in a situation (start listing solutions, fix it, make it better, what is the way out, figure it out, NOW!).
Once you come up with as many ideas as you would like on how to make things worse (f-ing things up), you invert each one (flip-it) in hopes of creating a list of possible solutions to working things out, which you may not have thought of initially., had you just jumped to problem-brainstorm-solution, you are now adding problem-brainstorm (f-it up then flip -) and then solution.
WHY might it work?
From what I understand, experienced and read, I believe this may work for several reasons including but not limited to:
- Making problem solving more fun-you can kind of gamify it
- It’s something new and different to try out, providing a different kind of challenge
- It requires approaching problem solving from a different angle. Possibly coming up with solutions you would not have thought about
- Potentially breaks creative blocks
- Might evoke further awareness into your problem and underlying issues
- Allows you to release some of your emotions and tension
A Little background on Problem Solving: Problem Solving 101:
Although this is not an article on problem solving but rather on a specific technique within a common model, it is essential to understand where in the problem-solving life cycle the f-it-up and flip-it exercise operates and functions.
Note: When I refer to “problem”, I invite you to expand what this means. What one determines is a problem or not a problem is subjective, and it can vary. It can include a goal you are not meeting, a habit you are struggling to make or break, or being stuck in in-decision, to name a few.
Below I have included some basic steps from a popular problem-solving method.
There are quite a few variations of this you may find. I use the following. You can alter/change the wording as you see fit.
- Recognize that there is a problem (so basic yet often missed!)
- Identify and define the problem
- Brainstorm, sometime referred to as “generate solutions”
*This is where the F-it-up and Flip-it exercise enters!
- Pick one action to try
Here you will choose one from the “flip-it” column which I demonstrate below.
- Implement the chosen action (potential solution), try it out, explore
- Evaluate and review the outcome
*After this step you may need to go back to any one of the earlier steps depending on where you are in the problem-solving life cycle.
Ok Now HOW do I Use It?
I broke this down into 4 steps.
Step 1: Create 2 columns
Column 1:How can I make things worse? (F-it up)
Now you are not stuck in only asking yourself, “how can I make things worse?’. You will see this in my examples below.
This is the fun part. Go ahead, mess it right up!
This part of the exercise can be quite cathartic as you get to just release your emotions and thoughts.
Write as many things as you want. Go to town.But please come back. We don’t want to stop at all the ways to f-things up and act from there.
At least I hope not….
Column 2: Flip-it. Now go through each item and flip it.
What might the opposite or inverted version of this be? This could include thought, action, belief, even desired emotional state.
The idea here is that the opposite of F-ing it up (flipping-it) might introduce creative, insightful and healthy solutions to your problem.
Possibly.
Let’s go to step 2.
Step 2: Select one approach from column 2 (the flipped (potential solutions).
What is the one action step you want to try?
You will have a chance to go through the others if this does not work out but selecting one at a time is a nice, methodical approach and follows the problem-solving method.
Step 3: Try this step out and evaluate the outcome
Step 4: This will depend on your evaluation and outcome in Step 3.
If the solution worked, great!
If it didn’t, it depends on the situation. You can go back now to column 2 and pick another one of the flipped options. You can even go back to Column 1 and continue to brainstorm more ways to f-up your situation. Other times you may have to go back further and identify the problem or, if there is any more, anymore.
What are Some Examples of Where I Can Use This?
Although this approach can be used for several types of problems outside the corporate world I have stuck to 3……I can go on and on (yes, this is sometimes a problem). So, if I were to f-it up, I would have endless examples. So, I flipped this, to not using endless examples and sticking to 3.
See how it works?!
I selected the following 3 as I find them to be quite common and hopefully general enough that you may be able to resonate with them. These are just example and in no way a “this is a good idea for you!” or to be taken as advice giving!
Note that under the “flip-it” this is not a SMART goal so once you identify the flipped action you do want to elaborate and be specific in what steps you are going to take and how you will measure this. For the purposes of this exercise, I am just listing some general, vague flipped responses, they are not specific, measurable action steps.
I also generated some more specific questions to help you uncover a range of ideas of how you can f-up your situation so you are not just limited to asking “How can I f-things up?” But of course, you can just stick to that too! It is the name of the exercise!
If the problem is:
- Difficulty achieving a performance and/or outcome goal. For example, receiving a promotion at work, training to run 5km event, improving your grades at school
Let’s take training to run a 5km run in 3 months starting as a new runner.
Potential Identified Problem: You are not sticking to your training schedule.
You can ask: What are all the ways to make sure I do not reach my goal?
F-it-up: Continue to sleep in through my morning training.
Flip -it: Stick to my morning training, change my morning training to match my energy levels and train in the evening
F-it-up: Drink an alcoholic beverage the night before my training
Flip-it: Do not drink an alcoholic beverage the night before my training (and maybe during training season)
F-it-up: Continue to believe and tell myself that, “I will never be able to do this”
Flip it: Work on my mindset and try believing that I can do this if I work hard at it
Other questions you can ask to brainstorm how to F-it-up (and then you would flip it) include:
- What would make reaching my goal more difficult?
- What could I tell myself to demotivate me towards this goal?
- An interpersonal conflict. For example, an argument with your partner, a miscommunication with your manager, a family member saying something hurtful and avoiding you.
Let’s take a Manager that told you informally, several times, that you would get that promotion and then told you that you are not getting it:
Potential Identified Problem: Difficulty regulating your emotions around your Manager and towards your work (as you didn’t get the promotion you were expecting and hoping to get and still must work with your Manager and go to work)
You can ask: What could I say or do to increase my chances of never getting a promotion?
F-it-up: Go into their office without warning and release all my emotions. Maybe throw all their paper off their desk, including their laptop.
Flip-it: Do not go to their office unannounced, send an email requesting a meeting, and work on regulating my emotions first so no one gets hurt.
F-it-up: Be passive aggressive and do a really bad job at work
Flip-it: Talk to someone about how I am feeling and pause before reacting, recognizing that any vindictive action might not only backfire but may hurt me (and others) further.
F-it-up: Walk up to their desk, hand in your resignation on the spot and revenge quit
Flip-it: Take some time to really think about what my career goals are and what would be the best way forward for my long-term success?
Other questions you can ask to brainstorm how to F-it-up and (then you would flip it) include:
What would heighten my emotions even further at work?
How could I increase the tension between my Manager and myself?
- Stuck in a state of indecision. For example, do I take that new job or stay in this one, do I stay home and get some rest or go to that baby shower? Do I end this relationship or give it a chance?)
Let’s take difficulty deciding whether to buy that new car now or wait and see if a better deal comes up
Potential Identified Problem: Stuck in indecision creating stress, overthinking, analysis paralysis.
You can ask: What would be a really bad decision?
F-it-up: Just buy it. Do it. Now. You know you want to. And don’t talk to your partner about it first
Flip-it: Don’t buy it today and set up a conversation with your partner to talk about this first
F-it-up: Not checking my financial situation
Flip-it: Meet with my financial advisor (or check my finances)
F-it-up: Buying the car out-right without checking buying options and other dealers
Flip-it: Thoroughly review buying options and check out 2 other dealerships.
Other questions you can ask to brainstorm how to F-it-up and (then you would flip it) include:
What would make this decision even more complicated and difficult to make?
What is the most impulsive thing I could do in this situation?
And there we have it.
I hope this article demonstrated how you can use the f-it-up and flip-it activity across many problems and tap into your natural creativity to come up with a healthy, constructive, methodical and positive way forward in any situation you define as problem.
Wishing you best of luck and thank you for taking the time to read my article😊!