What is the "own contribution" question, and why does it matter?

"Suppose it all worked out as you wished — what was your personal contribution to finding the solution?" It hands the person agency and ownership of the change.

Asked from an imagined solved future looking back, this question — "Angenommen, das Problem ist gelöst...: Was war Ihr persönlicher Beitrag zur Lösungsfindung?" — does something specific: it positions the person as an active author of the solution, not a passive recipient of help. Effects:

• It reinforces the assumption that the person is the expert and agent of their own life.
• It makes the wanted future feel achievable and self-driven, because they're identifying what they did to get there.
• It surfaces concrete, personal resources and steps they can actually take.

By asking what they contributed (in the imagined success), it quietly transfers responsibility and confidence for the change to the person themselves.

Tip: Asking "what was your part in solving it?" turns a wish into a plan the person owns.