My Go-To Question

Caregiving is hard, especially when your loved one does not want to be cared for in that moment (feel free to insert day, week, month, whatever here). Or you often hear how they don’t need anything and do not want to be a bother.  In those cases, I frequently revert to my go to question- What could be a little bit better today?  Of course, you need to modify it to the person and the situation.  For instance, right after a medical set back or on hospice, we all know what could be better.

Why this works is that it changes the perspective from an overwhelming big effort to a small thing and focuses on improving something in a concrete way vs a huge undertaking. Small steps count always.  You can’t make large changes without small steps. When people are stuck, it’s the small steps that will get them moving.  I see this across the board in my personal life to my professional life.

I still find it funny how this opens up people. How shifting a head pillow will lead to conversations, memories and ideas.

What could be a little bit better today?

What can I change, to make you feel more comfortable now?