Mental Model

We are brought into the world with a clean slate and the freedom to dream big and become anything we want. As we progress through life, the pressures and constraints of life can often limit our ambition and what we can achieve. We conform to what society expects of us and accept the average thinking of the people around us. People who stand out and achieve unreasonable success plan the impossible with big a dream and aspirational vision. Their focus of energy, talent, and time on a clear goal makes the impossible a reality. They see “impossible” as “I’m possible”.

Overview

Life can get busy and we often go from one activity to the next. Days turn into weeks and weeks turned into months. Before you know it, years have passed by and you have not made any progress toward what is truly important and essential. But what exactly is your plan? How does that story read?

We are often guided by the plans that others put in our minds usually with the best intentions. Our parents, other family members, or friends. Nobody guided us with the simple idea of planning the impossible. The moonshot thinking to solve a huge global problem or take on an initiative that you or others think is unrealistic.  

Many people never take the opportunity to be creative and explore what could be the most exciting and fulfilling opportunity of their life. It is easier to stick to the status quo and accept the hand that life has dealt us. We never reach our true calling and potential. This is not our best self. This is not making the most of the one life we live. If we could do one thing, what would that be?

Experiment with This

  • It’s often the case that it’s our self-limiting beliefs that holds us back from reaching our true potential in life. If you could do or achieve one thing, what would that be? Write down what the impossible looks like to demystify it.
  • What is holding you back from pursuing the impossible?
  • Identify people or new relationships that will be required to make progress on this aspirational goal.

Resources

Unreasonable Success and How to Achieve It: Unlocking the 9 Secrets of People Who Changed the World – by Robert Koch

The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph – by Ryan Holiday (Chapter: Something Bigger Than Yourself)