The promise of What Could Be leads us forward. However, the tension between What Is and What Could Be has the potential to drive us nutters.
This happens whenever we stay fixated on the “reality” of our current situation so vehemently that we end up defending it while working to change it.
We argue for better resources and relationships while mixing it up with the same usual suspects that keep us stuck.
It’s easier to stay pissed off about delays than it is to drop the hammer toward forward motion. But being a grumpy customer in a waiting room isn’t going to get us in to see The Powers of What Could Be any faster, much less improve our situation.
Here are a couple ways to remember that
What Could Be is probably closer than you realize.
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1. Wait for no one, not even yourself. Oh good, you can’t meet this month? That’s actually fine, because there are plenty of other people I need to talk to. No one person (other than myself) holds the keys to my ideal future. Additional time is a gift, because I can continue to design, refine, and align.
Bring a moleskin and a nice pen everywhere with you. Redefine what it means to “wait” into a process that works for you. Don’t just mindlessly look at your Facebook feed or reply to endless messages pertaining to What Is. This is your time to create more clarity around What Could Be. Savor, and maximize it.
When in doubt that any forward motion is taking place, take any small action you can think of toward your new vision. At the end of the day or the month when you’re inventorying your progress, you’ll be grateful you did.
2. Spend at least an hour a day on What Could Be. Before you can be recognized as being serious about your new vision, you have to demonstrate your capability. Notes, plans, and conversations work well to psych you up but you have to be that guy or gal you’re creating. You have to wear those clothes, allocate your time accordingly, and operate in the circles this person operates in.
Schedule the time, and defend it as sacred. It’s only an hour. Find it, and build walls around it.
You wanna be a writer? Don’t know how or when?
Find a quiet place, use a humble pen. – Paul Simon
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3. Identify all adjacent pathways between What Is and What Could Be (while using the contrast to light a fire beneath you.) Remember that you’re currently living some aspect of reality you once thought was impossible.
It’s unlikely that you could’ve walked into your current job or relationship right out of high school. What Is has served you pretty well in setting you up for this next level.
Consistently practice your new role in the world until people first recognize you for it, and better yet start thanking you for it. Get to a place where your identity with this new role is so enjoyable and inspiring that What Is begins to fade away. At this point the “official” shift you’re looking for, whether it’s a new job or a new relationship will seem less like a massive leap, and more like the next logical progression.
4. Surround yourself with people that inspire and challenge you. You’ll know you’re in the right class of people when their output either scares the crap out of you, or makes you want to be better.
What are some things that helped steer you closer to What Could Be?
One Response
I find a gratitude journal does wonders for getting me closer to What Could Be. I find myself looking for opportunities and connections that I can note in my journal. I consciously FEEL grateful for the future.