Leaning into limitations...Making the impossible possible

Bungled attempts at one-man flight

"I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” – Henry David Thoreau

In human history, there have been things in this world that have appeared impossible. However, as time and ingenuity progressed, impossible then evolved into limitations that just took time to be figured out.  Mankind wanted to fly.  In themselves it was impossible. Yet, through an industriousness mindset and a lot of failure, flying became possible. 

Even to this day, when flight has lost its marvel, "impossible" limitations still surround us all. How we interpret those limitations will determine if we use them to grow or diminish. If seen as ambition fences, limitations will wrangle our aspirations to the point of feeling boxed in.  Eventually, the boxed in feeling gives way to hopelessness; robbing the very dreams that we believed we were supposed to somehow achieve.  On the other hand, as it pertains to you and me, limitations may not be the fences at all. In fact, they may be the tutors that will serve to draw out the behavioral adaptations to make"impossible" possible.

When impossible occurs, the issue isn't zero-sum. The core of the matter is; what are you really trying to accomplish in the first place?  For Oral and Wilbur Wright, the goal was that of transportation. Could a human being efficiently transport themselves from point A to point B in a straight line?  Air travel would accomplish this.  Instead of creating wings so that the traveler could individually experience the romance of flying like a bird,  a larger encompassing vehicle was needed to be built in order to accomplish air travel.   Impossible made possible.

I am very fortunate to have had the privilege of speaking with many a person who, from my vantage point, were living the "dream." Through our conversations exchanged, I learned that while such persons may be experiencing a life full of accomplishment, their day to day "dream" job has headaches like any other position. Those headaches are just called by different names.  For some, the title of their achievements still lacked in providing the self-worth fulfillment that they hoped would come with their professional arrival.  When limitations arrive in your life, ask yourself, "What am I really trying to achieve?"  If re-framed, limitations can be the catalyst to positively re-invent ourselves.  More often than not, our envisioned goals are just models of achievement that we associated with self-worth.  Once limitations are re-calibrated, our endeavors may find the traction to discover an even greater avenue for a more fruitful actuality.

Recently, I viewed the life on film story about Manuel De Los Santos. Manuel is a Dominican living in Paris who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. With the loss of his leg, he also lost his dream of playing baseball.  Through a series of insignificant events, he significantly changed his mindset and his life. In the video below, Manuel encourages us all with this statement, "I think for me, and for many, the most important thing is to try and find something that (makes us) feel good. When you feel good, the impossible becomes possible."

Win Today!

Victor