Imagine there are no limits
Today my musings are on the topic of imagining there are no limits… and thinking about how to visualise alternatives and map out a path towards goals without limits.
“The man who has no imagination has no wings.”
- Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is quoted as saying “The man who has no imagination has no wings.” How does this quote sit with you? How are your wings right now? Big, beautiful and flapping strongly or feeling a little too small to really get you off the ground? This big, beautiful wings metaphor is really talking about big juicy goals. The kind of goals that make you feel butterflies in your stomach and get your heart beating a little faster…
I am a fan of using little bitesize goals and they definitely have a place in this discussion. But if the smaller chunk goals exist without some of those stretch goals in place they are not going to help you with that transformative change you seek. A bigger picture view needs to sit above them.
Start with imagination and dreaming. Ask lots of limitless ‘what if…’ questions…
So how do we get those bigger picture, or big juicy, goals? Start with imagination and dreaming. Ask lots of limitless ‘what if…’ questions… ‘What if I could go anywhere, do anything…?’, ‘What if I had all the resources I need…?’, ‘With nothing holding me back, what would I choose?’, or ‘What if I won the lottery… then what would I do?’. Spend some time with these questions. Have fun, dream big, push at the edges of possibilities. Try to put to one side rules and opinions from others that you might have grown up with or taken on, about what you can or can’t do. Step outside of constraints.
Give yourself permission to play...with the question; ‘what if there were no limits?’
As children we spend quite a lot of time in play and imagination. As children we naturally use the tool of imagining anything as possible. Try to access this child-like state of pure potentiality again. Give yourself permission to play; in your head, on a piece of paper or a vision board with the answer to the question; ‘what if there were no limits?’. Step away from the external world of restrictions and dream big!
How do you feel when you dream up those big goals? Does your heart start to race a little? Do you get a feeling of fear when you dare to dream? Spend some time really exploring in yourself what it would be like to actually have that goal? Use all your senses, what would you be seeing? Hearing? Smelling? Feeling?
We are playing a little trick on your mind with this. Working with what we know about neuro-plasticity and ways of reprogramming ourselves or training our brains. Interestingly, experiments using brain scanning show that there is very little difference to how the brain reacts to experiencing an event in the real world and a strongly imagined vision. Visualisation can be a powerful tool for working towards your big juicy goals. Ever heard of great sports people visualising their successful outcomes? There is a reason they do this. Visualisation in all its forms (audio, visual and kinaesthetic) is part of achieving that goal.
So your first step is to take time out and do some dreaming. Invest in this process, flesh it out, make it feel real and keep revisiting it from time to time.
I think this quote by Brian Tracy helps with framing this exercise;
“You will find that there are no limits to what you can accomplish except for the limits you place on your own imagination. And since there are no limits to what you can imagine, there are no limits to what you can achieve.”
- Brian Tracy
Start with the result, then step back in time, what had to happen just before for it to happen?
The second step is where the little, bite-size chunks come in; break that big juicy goal down into steps. Get them as small and manageable as you can. Start with the result, then step back in time, what had to happen just before for it to happen? Then step back again, what happened before that? Keep stepping back until you hit the here and now. This is your road map!
The great thing about this map, is that it is yours! You can edit it any time you like. Add details, take bits out, make little improvements and do whatever you need to do to get yourself moving towards the goal. Go write your next chapter one word at a time.
Lastly: Do it! Take that first step and enjoy the ride.
I’ll leave you with this thought from William Blake;
'“What is now proved was once only imagined.”
– William Blake