Let’s play the game of possibility
Because of the pandemic, I ended up having to close our then fledgling adventure business. My partner and I had dedicated three years to building the business, and we were just on the verge of having our breakthrough season when it all came screeching to a halt. For a moment, I felt panicky and got caught up in fear and limitation. However, after being an entrepreneur for over 20 years, I am used to flowing with the evolution of change. I remembered to take a deep breath ask myself, “Okay, now that this path is no longer available to me, what else is possible?”
Previous to launching the adventure business, for a decade I had given my heart and soul to helping people discover their inspired work through the VISION PROGRAM, and then I put it on hiatus for several reasons. The primary reason being a matter of timing. There was a shift that had to happen both within myself and out in the world so that there was alignment between who I was, what I was offering, and what the world was ready for. The pandemic served to catalyze that transformation and here we all are.
At this time on the planet, now there are many people who also have the need to change what they do for work, though their reasons may be different than mine. What seems common to us all is that we are feeling called to work that is more purposeful, more fulfilling, and allows us to make our valuable contribution to the world – what I call our inspired work.
As old systems continue to erode and break away, it leaves us standing in a gaping void, an empty space ready to be filled with yet-to-be realized potentials for what’s next. As we build toward our future, we need to create new kinds of work – work that is more in alignment with ourselves and more serving of the current state of humanity. These are the conditions in which I thrive. The time I had been waiting for has finally arrived. In the midst of the pandemic, it was obvious that the opportunity presenting itself to me was to bring forth the next evolution of The New School. It was an easy leap as the seeds for this work had already been germinating for years.
For you, however, your way forward may not be as clear. You may be desiring to do work that is more inspiring to you, but perhaps you are bumping up against a wall because you can’t yet see what is possible for yourself. Given the current state of the world, it is understandable if you are feeling hopeless or even lost in despair. I, too, cycle through those kinds of feelings. However, I find that after a short while, the misery of being stuck in that mindset is too much to bear. Inevitably, I surrender back into optimism simply because it feels better. And in my less resistant state, I am able to allow new possibilities to arise.
To support our ability to open into a mindset where we can conceive of new ideas, I created a game of sorts, a game I call “Possibility”. The intent of it is to identify and breakthrough any limiting beliefs that are preventing us from seeing opportunities that are the potential pathways to realizing our dreams. In the process of creating of this game, I’ve come to understand there to be four elements of possibility.
The 4 elements of possibility
All possibility begins with a story of desire. Typically, however, we add an element of limitation to our story that prevents us from being able to imagine what’s truly possible. When we expose the limitation, then we are able to open to possibilities and create a new, more expansive story that serves us in realizing our dreams.
1. Desire. What is it you want?
I cannot remember the exact words or who said them, so I will paraphrase a quote I once read that went something like this, “I can help anyone have what they want, if only they could tell me what they want.” We humans seem to be very clear on what it is we don’t want, but have a much more difficult time articulating what it is we do want. I like to use this peculiarity to our advantage. To help people get clear on what it is they desire, first I ask them to express what it is they don’t want. By identifying our displeasure, it is easier to highlight the resulting desires that have been born within us.
2. Barrier. Why do you think you can’t have it?
This is where most of us get stuck. When we add the condition of a barrier to our desire, it becomes a limiting story. “I want this thing, but there’s this barrier preventing me from having it.” We tend to fixate on all the reasons why we think we will not be able to realize our desires instead of focusing on the desire itself. But barriers are only perceptions, they are not real. They are never a reflection of what’s actually possible. When we examine our thoughts more deeply, we discover it’s not actually the barriers that are stopping us, they are only serving to mask the actual limitations.
3. Limitation. What is the limiting belief?
Behind every barrier lies a more insidious belief about why we cannot have what we want. These fears are what I call the “lies”, the untrue stories. It is painful to believe a story that is simply not true. However, because in our minds we believe it to be true, instead of challenging the limitation, we attempt to convince ourselves to stop having the desire because we don’t want to live with the pain of wanting something we think we cannot have. In our attempt to block out the pain, we also close ourselves off from seeing the potentials. It’s when we have the courage to reveal the actual limitation that we can open to receiving new ideas.
4. Transformation. What is a new story?
When we choose to release the limiting belief by telling a new story, our resistance diminishes and receptivity rises. Then we can ask ourselves “Now what is possible?” It’s astonishing how when we look beyond the barriers and dismantle the limitations, the new ideas come flooding in. We gain access to the unlimited potentials that exist for us. The stories of what’s possible for our work expand and become limitless and inspiring. We become free to create whatever it is we desire for ourselves.
What’s possible for your work
As we emerge into this new era, what’s exciting is that anything and everything is possible for you. The ideal situation is to align what you do for work with who you are in a way that meets the needs of the world. You may already be aware that this is what you want, but you may also be frustrated because you cannot see beyond where you now stand. This is why I created Project: Possibility.
Project: Possibility is an online workroom where we gather to transform limitations into new possibilities – for our work and for the world.
If you are tired of feeling stuck, uninspired, and mad at the world and would rather move into feeling optimistic, clear, and eager to participate in the evolution of humanity, then I invite you to join me in Project: Possibility. This free one-hour online event is an opportunity for us to come together and breakthrough limitations so that you can receive new ideas and open to new opportunities for your work.
