A long time ago, when my children were still children, we encouraged them to utilize the dictionary often. We had a large one in the living room, and we all made good use of it.
This was, of course, way before spell check and online dictionaries.
One night at the dinner table, I told a story that sounded too fantastical to these three young minds. One of them dismissed my story outright and said, “That’s impossible.”
To which I replied: “Impossible you say. That’s an interesting word. I think you should look it up.”
“We know what it means,” they all said.
But I persisted. “Go ahead, look it up. Right now. I think you’ll be surprised.”
The oldest pushed back from the table and went to get the heavy dictionary. He brought it back to the table and when he found the word, he smiled and said, “It’s not there. You made the word ‘possible’.”
And he was right. I had recently redacted the IM in the word impossible so that only “possible” remained.
We then had a lively discussion as to whether or not anything is truly impossible. Because I’m not sure much of anything is.
I know it made an impression on them.
These three children are all adults now, with children of their own. They all have college degrees, are thriving in their careers and doing work they love.
I can’t take credit for their success. They earned that all on their own. But I do like to think that their “possibility thinking” played some part in them believing they could do anything they set their mind to.
Not long after that dinner conversation occurred, their mother and I, along with 120 others, walked barefoot on 1,200 degree coals with Tony Robbins. “The Fire Walk” expanded even more my thinking about what’s possible and what isn’t.
What seems impossible to YOU? Are you sure it’s impossible?
If the word does occur in your dictionary, consider pronouncing it as “I’m Possible”.
Best Life Truth: You Can Achieve Anything You Want, But Not Everything.
This article is an excerpt from my book, How to Create a Vital Vision for Your Life: Live Your Life by Design Instead of by Default. It’s the second in the “Your Best Life“ series.
This article was originally published on SuccessNet.org in April of 2019.
