Small steps bring about big changes | Persistent Practice |

What do the Zen path and solution focus have in common? A search for clues leads to a surprising number of similarities and shows how persistent practice and small steps can lead to major personal changes.

The discovery of Zen and Focus

What actually happens if nothing happens? I first considered this question around 15 years ago. Personal crises and times of inner turmoil had accidentally led me to a meditation cushion. Although at the time I didn't yet understand what sitting in silence stood for and what exactly it was supposed to do, I still felt that I had found a guide in my life that made a crucial difference for me.

Something similar happened to me a few years later at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences: Dominik Godat introduced us students to solution focus during a weekend seminar. In one fell swoop, all the questioning techniques and coaching models I had learned so far were pushed into the background. I knew: This is it! However, one question has always bothered me: Why Zen and solution focus?

In an essay, Elfie Czerny described mindfulness and the beginner's mind as the "soul" of Solution Focus and gave me the explanation: Steve de Shazer, one of the formative figures at the early days of Solution Focus, was very connected to Zen Buddhism.

The Zen Way

There is currently a lot of talk and writing about Zen in the West. Zen monk Marcel Reding describes Zen as “examining life and death with all your heart, 24 hours a day.” During sitting meditation, also called Zazen, “the true person without rank or name is realized.” Practicing the Zen way means paying attention every day, every hour, every moment and never slacking off your efforts. Sitting in silence is therefore just part of the Zen path. The remaining hours are about implementing every action into everyday life mindfully and with a beginner's mind.

A good training ground for me, for example, is going to the toilet while attending seminars. When high-ranking managers leave the washbasin dirty with soapy water, I always ask myself how they can manage to lead people and achieve great things when they're not even there are able to manage themselves. This is exactly where the Zen way comes in: it invites me to do better. And: He invites me to put things back in order for the predecessor. This second point has caused great inner resistance for me for many years. My ego felt hurt and loudly protested against such an action.

For this reason, intensive practice periods, called sesshin, are repeatedly interspersed in Zen. On the one hand, these serve to devote yourself to persistent zazen practice with like-minded people. But they also help to exhaust one's own psychological and physical resources to make personal changes possible.

The inner man can now begin a process of growth and maturation. "I want". These two words dominate the world. They manifest themselves in many subtle forms. Even the solution-focused question about the best hopes is disguised in this way. Once this realization has taken place from the depths of the heart, the way is prepared for acting more humanely.

Similarities between solution focus and Zen

“Like-minded people strengthen each other”

As part of my master's thesis, it became clear that an idea or something new is easier to implement if several people in a company adopt the same attitude. The same thing happens on the Zen path with the intensive training during sesshin.

“Being silent and enduring silence enables better answers”

All too often, THE crucial clue in a conversation is missed or overlooked because people are not used to taking breaks in the conversation or enduring the silence. It is precisely this silence that is learned in Zen.

“Persistent practice leads to behavioral changes”

It makes a difference between talking about something and then actually doing something about it and consistently following this path. Solution-focused questions need to be practiced and applied. Again and again. Only after numerous repetitions and practice will a different type of question be accepted as a new part of one's own personality. On the Zen path you also practice: 24/7.

“Small steps lead to big changes”

People are reluctant to change their habits. Big steps and announcements about what changes may soon be coming are frightening. Setting small steps prevents the forest from being seen for the trees. If a small step is successful, it increases the motivation to continue. In Zen the rule is: one thing at a time.

“Ignorant attitude brings resources to bear”

This attitude is often described in solution focus. However, understanding them can also be difficult. I understand this as “do not interfere”. I give the interlocutors space and do not comment on their statements with words that are colored by my ego mind. If this does happen, the two words “I want” will come into play again in some subtle form. Zazen primarily consists of practicing “not interfering”.

Personal conclusion

Basically, speaking of one's own actions is just as difficult for me as giving the eye an order to observe itself. I like to adhere to Wittgenstein's principle, which said: "If you can't talk about it, you have to keep quiet about it." My working day is structured as follows. It begins and ends with practicing in person. Throughout the day I repeatedly ask myself questions and set anchor points that help me reflect on my actions and behavior.

The golden rule of practical ethics is as follows: “Treat others as you would have them treat you.” I try to live by this rule every day and I lead the company according to this rule. It is primarily up to me to take a first step that also makes a crucial difference for those around me. Years of practice have taught me to act and give more intentionally, without always expecting anything in return.

If I now bring solution-focused questions into play that support people in their ability to act, results are visible that were often not considered possible before finding a solution. Persistent practice, taking it step by step and continuing to practice again. These are the foundations that have enabled my inner growth. Ultimately, for me it's about taking the highest possible responsibility for my actions.

Jörg Koch