# Dilemma Resolution

<div align="left"><figure><img src="https://content.gitbook.com/content/uMy1lfZm91OrXOW0GpDT/blobs/7MRwp4MCOseT3p71WBO1/RL-Icons_Dilemma-Resolution-f3300e77.png" alt="" width="125"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

When you experience two mutually conflicting values or goals, you may be facing a **choice** or a **dilemma**.\
If it is simply a choice, you can weigh alternatives and decide.\
But if the situation is a **dilemma**, something different is required — a different thinking technique. Treating a dilemma as a choice can have serious consequences.

If a dilemma is not recognised and worked with consciously, it can:

* paralyse action
* stifle creativity
* diminish motivation
* intensify conflict

A dilemma often polarises your mind into two opposing ideas or values, each trying to dominate or “win.”

To work with a dilemma, we need to seek a **resolution** in which both values are honoured and incorporated. This requires shifting from **either/or thinking** toward a **both/and** mindset — a generative step that opens space for creative insight.

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### **Exercise**

1. **Describe the improvement situation** you are working on — the place where you feel stuck or unsure how to proceed.
2. In the **upper diagram**, list the most powerful **polarities** in the situation as pairs of “this *versus* that.”
   * One side is coded blue and the other green.
   * The tension between them is shown in red.
3. **Reflect on each polarity** and identify the core insight:\
   If either pole is rejected, the situation will not improve — it may even deteriorate.\
   In other words, both poles hold something **indispensable**.
4. In the **lower diagram**, rewrite:
   * the **indispensable element** of the blue pole in the left-hand box
   * the **indispensable element** of the green pole in the right-hand box\
     The diagram turns the polarity into two axes, with the yellow zone showing where a creative resolution may be possible.
5. **Hold both the blue and green ideas strongly in mind** and search for a resolution idea that genuinely integrates both.\
   If your intuition finds something that honours both poles, you will likely gain a useful direction for moving forward.

<figure><img src="https://content.gitbook.com/content/uMy1lfZm91OrXOW0GpDT/blobs/gBtd1RBN0KcavauYlixf/image.png" alt="Dilemma Thinking outline"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

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<div align="left"><figure><img src="https://content.gitbook.com/content/uMy1lfZm91OrXOW0GpDT/blobs/ZLEql970gAfCkwOhXUve/image.png" alt="" width="150"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

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