Imagination and Possibility

I believe that one of the most powerful and important things we can do in our lifetimes is widen our imaginations and expand our sense of possibility.

Imagination is how we make impossible things happen.

It’s how we create, lean into, and have experiences of what doesn’t exist yet (in this dimension of time and space, at least).

It’s a simple practice of pushing the edges - of what we think we know, what we believe we can do, what we assume is possible, and who we think we are.

It’s the process of stepping into mystery and choosing to see possibility rather than impossibility, of being in uncertainty and saying “maybe so” rather than “probably not”.

It’s a space of creation, curiosity, and magic.

One thing I’m learning about imagination is that it requires me to be in active, deep conversation with my fear.

Because my fear lets me know (real quick) where my edges are. It tells me what I believe is impossible, out of reach, and not for me.

So one of the most effective ways to deepen imagination and widen possibility is to walk toward that fear and then see who we become and what we find in the process.

And this could be anything that simultaneously scares you and calls to you: sharing your writing or art with others, dancing in public, walking into a social space where you don’t know anyone, risking rejection, investing in yourself, having real, hard conversations, learning a skill that will require you to fail repeatedly (these are all some of mine).

And the beautiful bonus to all of this is that imagination is contagious, inspiring, and catalytic. When you imagine hard, you’re doing a public service.

So dream big and imagine hard, lovely humans.

Working with Fear to Create Goodness

Life has been reminding me recently that deepening my capacity to feel fear, discomfort, and uncertainty is a nonnegotiable part of living a big life.

Going after what I want, being real and vulnerable about who I am, stepping into newness, and seeking out unpredictable, raw experiences in the world often scares (and sometimes terrifies) me.

But more often than not, good stuff is waiting for me on the other side of that fear.

When I think of my first date with my spouse, getting on that plane to travel alone, starting my coaching business, or preparing for all of those high-stakes swim meets, job interviews, or exams, I can still feel the nervous butterflies and/or heavy pit of terror in my stomach, but I also remember that those feelings were all that stood between me and the beauty, goodness, and accomplishment waiting on the other side.

Deepening my capacity to feel fear helps me not run from life. And being with uncertainty and discomfort helps me stay in the moment I’m in (and not opt out by turning to escapism or avoidance).

And when I can do that, fear becomes an essential compass point – an indication I’m at the edge of my comfort and on the verge of the next new thing calling me forward.

Also: feeling fear and getting clear about what it’s communicating is a core component of discernment – because sometimes, fear is telling us it’s time to take our next step (or leap) towards a coherent desire, goal, or possibility, and sometimes, our fear is telling us we got off track and are on a path that is not right, safe, or good for us.

So how do we discern the difference? By getting clear on how each feels in our body.

I love the metaphor Martha Beck uses to talk about these two types of fear: does it feel more like you’re standing on a high dive about to jump into cool, clear water on a hot day, or more like you’re about to jump from the high dive into toxic sludge? Either way, the jump is high and frightening, but are you leaping toward something glorious, right, and clear, or not so much?

A helpful way to calibrate this compass is to return to times you felt fear. What did you feel in your body when the fear was leading you toward goodness, and what did you feel when the fear was warning you to stay away from something unhelpful or harmful? What do you notice about the differences between the two in how they show up as a feeling in your body?

Either way, fear is an important thing to feel and allow (unless we have traumas, addictions, or mental health issues that make it problematic for us to feel anxiety and fear, which is another conversation), because those feelings – as they show up in our bodies – are what give us the data we need to respond clearly and coherently to what life offers. And when we listen to our emotions and our bodies, we not only have more clarity for the path ahead, but also a deepened sense of inner knowing and self-trust.