Five steps to a solution
Seven cards take you from where you are to where you want to be, through the real reason, the hidden payoff and three concrete steps.
The technique below lives inside Self-Work Navigator on our platform – open it and the steps walk you through automatically.
Open Self-Work NavigatorAbout this technique
Five steps to a solution is a 25-minute self-reflection technique with metaphorical associative cards (MAC). Seven cards take you from where you are to where you want to be, through the real reason, the hidden payoff and three concrete steps. The session is designed to be run on your own, in your browser, without a therapist or a registration step.
It fits when a situation has been dragging on and you know something has to change, but not what. On the platform the steps walk you through automatically inside Self-Work Navigator, so you don't have to remember anything beyond the question you brought. We recommend starting with Light Within – it lands well for this kind of work.
Questions this technique helps with
These are the kinds of questions people bring to this technique. If you recognise yours, you are in the right place.
- Seven-card layout for any question. Seven positions: now, wanted, reason, hidden payoff and three steps. It takes almost any question, which is why people start here.
- How to break a situation into steps with cards. The layout splits the question into parts and ends with three actions, not with «I should think about it».
- From current to desired situation layout. The first two positions set point A and point B; the other five explain what sits between them.
- What keeps a situation stuck exercise. The «reason» position works with what usually stays unsaid: not «no time», but what actually holds it.
- Hidden payoff of staying stuck. A position of its own: what you get while everything stays the same. Until that is named, the steps do not hold.
- Turning a card layout into an action plan. The last three cards become three lines of action, and one of them, the smallest, gets a date this week.
When this technique fits
- A situation has been dragging on and you know something has to change, but not what.
- You want the question broken into parts: where I am, where I want to be, what holds it, where to start.
- You need a plan you can test this week, not an insight.
When it doesn't fit
- In acute anxiety or right after a loss, stabilise first: Safe Place, or simply rest. Seven cards overload that state.
- If the decision is legal, medical or financial in nature, cards give you the inside view but not professional advice.
What you need
- 25 minutes without rushing: this is the longest of the short techniques.
- A deck with varied images, and the seven-position room if you have it.
- Paper and pen, definitely: without notes, seven cards blur together.
The layout
7 positions. Each one has its own question, and the card in it answers that question rather than the whole request.
- 1NowHow is it now, and what does not work for me?
- 2WantedHow do I want it to be?
- 3ReasonWhat keeps the situation like this?
- 4PayoffWhat do I get while it stays the same?
- 5Step 1Where do I start?
- 6Step 2What comes next?
- 7Step 3What makes the movement stick?
How the session goes
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1
Put the situation into one sentence
Not «what should I do», but a description: «For three months I have been meaning to talk to my manager about workload». Write it down and keep it in sight: all seven cards answer that sentence.
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2
Card 1 blind: how it is now
Place it in the first position. Look at it in silence for half a minute, then answer and write down two or three words.
- What do I see here: atmosphere, figure, movement?
- How is this like my situation right now?
- What in this image works for me, and what does not?
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3
Card 2 chosen openly: how I want it
Pick this one with your eyes, not blind. A wanted state is chosen, not drawn at random. Place it in the second position.
- What changed compared to the first card?
- How does it land in the body if I imagine myself inside the image?
- What is here that my life is missing right now?
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4
Card 3 blind: the real reason
This position is about what keeps the situation in place. Not the logical reason («no time»), but the one that usually stays unsaid. The card will not name it for you; it gives an image to put the question to.
- If this image could say why nothing has changed, what would it say?
- When has this happened in my life before?
- What am I avoiding by keeping things as they are?
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5
Card 4 blind: what I get from the current situation
The most uncomfortable position. A situation that lasts for years almost always pays something: calm, safety, the right not to risk. Until that payoff is named, the steps do not hold.
- What good do I get while everything stays the same?
- What does the current state protect me from?
- What would I lose if the situation changed?
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6
Cards 5, 6, 7 blind: three steps
Draw three cards and lay them left to right as a sequence. Each card is a hint about a step, not the step itself. Turn the image into an action and write three short lines.
- What action does this image suggest?
- What has to happen at this step for the next one to be possible?
- What will I need: time, a conversation, a skill, someone's help?
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7
Pick the step for this week
Out of the three steps keep one, the smallest one you can actually do within a week. Write it on its own line with a date. The other two simply stay on the paper; you can come back to them.
Closing the session
Collect the cards, keep the sheet with the three steps. Look at it again in a week: it usually becomes clear which step was easier than it looked, and which one was never yours.
If a lot came up
The «what I get from this situation» position often brings up more than expected, and that is normal: you looked at something people usually skip. If it gets heavy, stop there; the steps can wait for another day. If the topic touches your health, your safety or a relationship that hurts, a conversation with a therapist will do more than another layout.
Recommended decks
About metaphorical associative cards (MAC)
Metaphorical associative cards (MAC) are a projective tool used in self-reflection, coaching and therapy. Unlike tarot or oracle cards, they don't predict anything – the image becomes a mirror for what is already happening inside you, helping you put words on something that was unclear or hard to say directly.
You can work with MAC cards alone, with a therapist, or in a group. The card itself is not the answer; it is a frame for asking yourself a more honest question. The same image can mean very different things to two different people on the same day, and that is exactly what makes the tool work.