ABSTRACT
Challenge-for-Thought has two purposes: designing the client's preferred future and challenging self-talk and counterproductive beliefs interfering with either the creation of a preferred future or the ability to take action to achieve the preferred future. In Challenge-for-Thought, coaches assist clients in creating a picture of their desired future state. The solution-focused principles that underlie both Challenge-for-Thought and Challenge-for-Action are simple, but powerful. The concept of a goal hierarchy was introduced, emphasizing the importance of proximal goals in regulating motivation and action. The technique of scaling and the use of the miracle question can be employed to elicit demonstrable indicators of success as part of creating a well-formed outcome. It may be tempting to simplify the purpose of Challenge-for-Thought by thinking of it as merely challenging clients to design and set goals. However, for most clients their proximal goals are an ill-defined, fuzzy vision of what they want (assuming they know what they want at all).
