A “thinking tool” can be a story, poem, image, or metaphor that helps us make sense of our experiences by lending mysterious or complex phenomena a simple and familiar structure. A vivid and relatively simple metaphor, when aptly applied, will link thought and emotion, reason and resolve. Unlike abstract statistical or scientific information, a thinking tool can give you more traction in your subjective, emotional world to help you make decisions and take actions that promote well-being. We need the power of narrative and story telling to make sense of highly subjective experiences.

Without a wide range of thinking tools, we may not be able to think productively about some very important aspects of our lives. As Abraham Maslow said, “I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” This blog is devoted to exploring a range of thinking tools that you might consider adding to your toolbox, which must be a custom selection for each of us, so that you can do more effective work on tricky phenomena like identity, trauma, needs, change, emotions, meaning, wisdom, etc.

All information drawn from my clinical work has been de-identified and approved for use by the individuals involved.