Very often in our jobs and our lives, we believe that we have to “do it myself,” as a young child might say. This exercise helps participants recognize that sometimes we CAN’T do it ourselves, and it is okay to ask for help. An application where this has had great success is in any type of abuse training — physical, sexual or emotional — where participants are often reluctant to ask for help. This exercise can help them see that on their own, there is little chance they will be able to solve the problem. You’ll need one 11/2 inch rubber band for each participant.

Process:

1.      Give each participant a rubber band, and have them hang it from their right thumb.

2.      Ask participants to pull the rubber band along the back of their hand, and then loop it over their little finger, bringing it down as far as it will go on their finger.

3.      Then give them these instructions: “Your goal is to now get the rubber band OFF your little finger so that it is again just hanging from your thumb. However, you may not:

Use your other hand;

Use your teeth or any other body part, such as your leg;

Use a table or any other object.

Good luck!”

Participants will often struggle with this for some time. After an appropriate time of struggle, say: “I did not say that you couldn’t get help from another person.” They will then get the hint and have a partner help them remove the rubber band from their finger.

Cautions: Check the size and tautness of the rubber bands — sometimes they will easily fall off the two fingers or be very easy to work off. You want the exercise to be somewhat difficult.

This activity can be found in SCORE 2: (Super Closers, Openers, Review, Energizers) for Enhanced Training Results by Rich Meiss and Bob Pike.