This week on the podcast I’m sharing 4 mantras that are particularly relevant and helpful for this particular year–when we’ve been in a pandemic for almost a full year and the end still feels out of sight. Today’s mantra is: Reimagine the Possible
Listen to the Podcast Here
I chose Reimagine the Possible as an apt mantra for 2021 because I think there’s a common desire out there for things to get back to normal. I get it, I do. I want to go eat at a restaurant and go inside at a friend’s house, send my kids off to summer camp, travel somewhere, make plans… I could go on.
But on a deeper level, there is no going back
This past year has been a wake-up call that things need to change, on so many levels. Politically. Racially. Environmentally. Financially.
I know how comforting it is to hope for things to go back to the way they were. But that’s nostalgia–which is backward looking. That’s not vision–which is forward looking.
I say this as a non-early adapter person. I am always reticent about adopting the latest new thing, whether it’s the new iPhone or distance learning. I can pine for the old days before we were glued to screens with the best of them. Believe me!
But Here’s the Thing
The fact that there’s no going back means that we get to create something new. And to do that, we’ve got to reimagine the possible.
The mind loves to know what’s going to happen next. It makes us feel safe to think we won’t get surprised by anything we don’t want. But when we start to map out our future based on what we already know or have already experienced, we tend to stick to the same script. And that is NOT how we create something better. The word ‘better’ implies improvement, which means a positive change from what was before. To really capitalize on the opportunity of so much revelation and breaking down of old ways of being, we’ve got to re-imagine the possible.
Otherwise, when you’re pondering what you want to create in the future it will be a basic rehash of what’s already come. And in 2021, we’re being called forward. Not backward.
This can be hard to do
Imagine something you’ve never experienced before. Your tiny assignment will help you put the mantra Reimagine the Possible in to practice. When your mind starts thinking about the future, whether that’s on a personal level or for the country as a whole, asking yourself what if this works out better than I ever could have imagined?
This little question helps you get out of the framework of what you have already experienced and start dreaming a little bigger.
This is where your other mantras will come in handy, too
If what you envision feels too hard or out of reach, remember that we are Stronger Together, and go and look for other people you can band together with. If you hit a snag, or learn something that makes you think your dream isn’t possible, remember that What’s Been Revealed Can Be Healed. And if you don’t feel like you’re ready to be thankful that whatever was in the dark has been brought to light, remind yourself that It’s OK to Not Be OK. We don’t need change to be complete, or instantaneous, for it to matter. We just need to be on the path, taking one step at a time. And I hope that’s what these mantras will help you — and me–do in 2021.
I hope you have a great weekend, and I’ll talk to you next week.
