Nothing is impossible. When you break it down, the word itself says I’m possible.
What would your world look like if there were no problems and only opportunities?
1) Mindset Is Everything
Mindset is everything in driving your success. We all have a choice as to what we create as our reality. It is that easy. This is now a habit. This kind of mindset is my default position, which means that every time something happens, I look at the opportunity at hand rather than get stuck in the problem. Mind you, it took me time to perfect it. Our friend Napoleon Hill says it perfectly – “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit”. This really resonates with me; every time I am faced with a problem, I ask myself: what is the opportunity here?
Going back twenty years ago, I did some work with a large corporation and they were on the market for sale. This is what happened as soon as it was announced. The majority of the people – up to 90% – were so focused on the sale as a negative situation rather than a positive. The gossip went up to double in almost a week. Fear was out of control. People were running around, stressing out of their brains whether they still had a job after the sale. Productivity dropped immensely. Individuals were concerned about their security. There was so much uncertainty, which created even more havoc.
In reality, when a group undergoes change and uncertainty, it is not the organisation that changes, but the behaviours of the individuals. That’s right. It is the meaning we give any situation as our reality. If only we were conscious enough to pause and shift our mindset, moving away from the problematic way of thinking, to the opportunities like this. This means I will:
- Get a promotion
- Be rewarded with a pay increase
- Work with a new kick ass boss
- Do what I love and use my talents
- Work in a different department
- Relocate, the drive to work may be shorter
In times of change, we can experience self-realisation or an ‘aha’ moment. Maybe we didn’t even realise that our potential is stronger somewhere else.
Shifting our mindset to what the opportunities at hand are will create movement. It will loosen the boundaries of the problem; it will open up your thinking to anything is possible.
2) Endure in the Possible
With the right attitude, hard work and perseverance you will create a reality of possibilities. Great possibilities become wishful thinking with no structure in place to carry out a plan. That’s why you need a plan. The problem lies with our beliefs, perceptions and assumptions that we hold to be true. A problem may initially feel impossible until you engage with it.
There are many individuals who look for any reasons as to why something is not possible, and guess what? They find them. Progress can only happen if we open our mindset to the possibility of a different and a better way. We can train our mind to move from impossible to possible. If there is no evidence or past experience of this problem, then it is fear-based. It is a figment of your imagination and it is not real.
In actual fact, it is your mind making up excuses and not taking responsibility to what is really going on. Making up excuses leaves no room for improvement. It is quite debilitating and disempowering. If your outlook is to think it’s impossible, you are saying it’s possible for someone else. It keeps you stuck with the problem. However, if you were in a place of accountability and owned it, there is so much more room for you to move with. It’s no longer a matter of who can make it possible?; it’s more how can I make it possible? So much more empowering, don’t you think?
We so often advocate or condone our positions by offering an alternative person, time and place. This takes the load of responsibility off our shoulders and places it on to another. However, if you were to think only you could do this task, you are now in business to think as everything is an opportunity. Remember, we were all born with endless possibilities and potential.
3) What Else Could This Mean?
We frequently get caught up in the gossip or the problem. The uncertainty overwhelms us. But… what if we were to embrace uncertainty and chaos? What would your world look like then? My favourite probing question to loosen the boundaries of any problem is to look at the multi facets of the problem with one simple question – what else could this mean? I then proceed to write a mammoth list of all the different possibilities of that problem.
To conquer any obstacles or to embrace uncertainty, there has to be a level of acceptance. Accept things as they are. It could be as simple as this is happening right now. How much control do I have over it? 90% of the time we have 0 control over it. So why not invest your time and energy in the things that you can control? Acceptance has movement; it can shift you from feeling happy to being happy. I also believe finding the purpose and the lesson behind every challenge will assist you to embrace whatever is going on for you.
4) Keep Moving Forward
Keep moving. Keep busy. Create goals that you have control over and have checkpoints or milestones so that you can tick them off one by one to create momentum. For example, I will set myself a particular goal, which has an end date of three months. Every month I think: what is the one thing I want to achieve out of this month that will contribute to my end goal? Then I break it down into four small action points to be completed each week. It creates movement and momentum; you can see you are moving towards your end goal. One step at a time. Slow and steady wins the race.
5) Believe You Can Create Anything
We have an incredible power of imagination and belief. If you believe you can, you will. The same rule applies if you believe you can’t. Every idea and triumph that every individual has ever created was the innovation of his or her imagination. Everything and all experiences have their starting point in the imagination. When you harness the power of your imagination and make it an integral part of your activity of love and life, then wonderful things start to manifest. It’s magical.
There is great power in believing that something is possible. Imagination is a powerful force. It brings things that did not exist before into the realm of possibility. To manifest our imagination into the real world, the most important ingredient is a deep sense of belief in our work and our abilities.
6) No Expectations. No Disappointments
Replace expectations with plans. To do that is to control the controllable. Once you have worked out what is in your control, you can easily prepare a different plan towards possibility. If you are only doing what is barely possible, you are most likely staying in your comfort zone.
For most of us, the conversion from doing what is necessary to what is possible will lead into what you once thought impossible in to achievable. The best plan is to start with small steps into the zone of necessity and then into possibility. When you see yourself achieving small victories, you are telling your belief system that it is possible. Tiny steps all add up to a huge leap.
7) Become an Observer of Your Story
Can you disassociate yourself from your story? Great. Can you now become the observer of the story instead of being in the story? If you remain associated with your limiting belief or limiting decision, then you won’t have much success in moving towards possibility. However, if you disassociate yourself from the story, you can see it from a different perspective. You can separate you from the problem. Then this makes the problem tangible and something you can work with.
Give it a go! It is completely up to you. The meaning you give any scenario is your complete choice.
