It's Completely Possible
Last week, a few friends and I got all dressed up and went out for dinner. We decided to end the night with drinks and desserts at a fancy hotel in downtown Nashville. With a large group of eight, we scanned for seating options. Seeing the half-circle booths lining the back wall, I asked the hostess if we could all sit at one. With a look on her face that clearly communicated that it had been a long day and she was ready to go home, she responded simply, “No, it’s completely impossible.”
Her abrupt response took me back a little bit and I couldn’t help but laugh and ask, “Why would it be impossible?” She quickly replied, “You wouldn’t fit. You can sit at a table.” She escorted us to our table without another word. It took all of my mental and physical strength to restrain myself from breaking into Whitney Houston’s version of the Roger and Hammerstein’s song, “It’s Possible” from the Broadway play Cinderella.
Here’s a link if you need a sing-along break!
For the rest of the night, our joke was,
“IT’S COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE!”
“Could you pass the fork my way, please?” “IT’S COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE!”
“Does anyone know where the bathroom is?” “IT’S COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE!”
I mean, who responds like that?
The next day I picked up Dr. Caroline Leaf’s book, “Think Learn Succeed.” It’s a great read and I would highly recommend it! She gives insight into her research as a neuroscientist revealing the sixteen mindsets that successful people build through their thoughts.“Possible Mindset” is one. She explains that our brains have creative power. We live in a world of endless options and our minds have the capability to design blueprints for all these different possibilities.
Most often the blueprints I create in my mind end with crash, burn, and fail. Sometimes I would rather give the, “IT’S COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE!” shutdown response to myself or to others when I’m faced with varying options or choices. I fear failure; but if I’m honest, I’m even more afraid of the work and time it would take to sift through more than one possibility.
You can see a variety of possibilities and choose to be overwhelmed by them or you can choose to believe there is more than one way of achieving something. Trial and error is our most skilled teacher. Every possibility provides an opportunity to learn and grow.
DEVELOP A MINDSET THAT ALLOWS YOU TO RECOGNIZE THE POSITIVITY IN ALL POSSIBILITIES TO CREATE THE POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESS.
So, how will you choose to respond to the endless possibilities before you this New Year? I hope it sounds something like that Whitney Houston chorus, “IT’S POSSIBLE!”
Written By: Tori Hein