Starting Up Your Own Self Detective Agency
Part 3 - Setting Up Your Own Case File

Below are some suggestions for starting up your own case file.

If you know where you would like to focus your attention first, and in which order, please make a note of it here:
I will start to work on…

It might be useful when embarking on SD to think about where you’d like to end up, but it isn’t essential.

(i) If you embark on a journey without knowing where you want to go, you may get lost or lose your way. Alternatively, you may discover so much more by not taking a direct route from A to B.

(ii) If you undertake a case with a clear finishing line, you may find that it isn’t the ending that you wanted or hoped for, or that you’re unable to solve the case. There again, it might be exactly what you wanted.

(iii) Some people will never find a clear beginning or an ending – there will just be experiences along the way.

(iv) If you do get to your goal, what happens next? Do you rest on your laurels? Do you set yourself another goal?

What comes to mind when you think about goals (or indeed aims or targets)?

If you are happy to make a list of goals, how about you start right here, right now?

Goals

How realistic or achievable do you think these goals are?

If you want to set a goal but you are finding it hard to make a start, you may want to come up with some statements that could then prompt you in the right direction.

For example:

I would like to

I need to

I would like        to happen by

I want to be

I want to improve my

I want to reduce my

I want to understand

In the short term I need to

I want to understand

In the medium term I need to

I want to understand

In the long term I need to

Asking yourself certain questions might also help get you going. Sometimes the answer to a question can be the goal in itself.

For example:

Who am I?

What do I want?

Where do I want to go?

What stops me from doing the things I want to do?

Created by Insoo Kim Berg

Suppose tonight, while you’re sleeping, a miracle takes place: the problems you had before you went to bed have now all been solved.

However, because you’re asleep, you don't know that the miracle has taken place.

Q: When you wake up in the morning, how will you know that a profound change has taken place?

Q: How would you notice that your life is suddenly better?

Q: How would other people notice the change?

The miracle question is a good way of discovering your goals/aims. It’s about looking at the end point of the journey first, rather than the beginning.