תפסת מרובה
לא תפסת
Don't bite off
more than you can choose

Counselors and consultants should review their work and consider what they or their clients might do in order to make a difference. When they face a major issue, they might try to solve it, although their efforts may not be successful.

Very often, counselors get overly excited about their work and their abilities. They may think about how they can save the world, or how they can make major changes.

Well, sometimes that does happen. Some people are able to make major changes.

However, it is more likely that the change that you will make will be minimal. Perhaps you can hope for no more than creating a small but significant change. And perhaps it would be reasonable to strive for that goal.

Thus, you may choose to put aside an important situation that requires a major change because you, your client, or your patient are not likely to be able to make that change. Your smaller change will stand a greater chance of success. In most cases, that should be a more strategic focus.

An important person was once involved in terrible crimes against some minors.

The counselor recommended that those who wanted to get involved should try to help the victims, rather than to help the perpetrator work towards a shorter sentence.

The lines of reasoning were as follows:

If the person did wrong, then there is no reason to lighten his sentence. He deserves to be punished.

If he did no wrong, then his legal counsel should prove to the court that he should be released from all accusations.

Thus, the focus should be on the remaining people - the victims – whose grief can be lessened, so that they can return to more normal lives.

You can make a real difference by identifying those who really need your help. Those people are not necessarily the ones who make the headlines.