Life is about believing in possibility, not limitation.

Up until the 1950s, scientists believed no person could run a four-minute mile. Then Roger Bannister wowed the world by running one in three minutes and 59 seconds.

In his youth, people told Doug Flutie he was too short for sports. Yet he trained hard, honed his skills, and became an NFL quarterback. 

When Jessica Cox was born without arms, doctors expected her to live a sedentary life. Undeterred, she earned a black belt in taekwondo.

Roger, Doug, and Jessica may sound like uniquely amazing individuals. And it’s true that each of them accomplished incredible things. Yet they all share one quality in common. They all refused to set limits on their lives. Instead of focusing on barriers and boundaries, they saw a world where anything was possible. 

The key message here is: Life is about believing in possibility, not limitation.

All too often, we let our lives be defined by narrow constraints. Instead of striving to attain our goals or working to pursue our desires, we imagine them to be out of reach. Sometimes, we don’t even imagine better lives at all. We simply accept the world around us as permanent. However, the first step to making any big change is to start seeing the world as full of possibility.

So how do you become awake to possibility? First, you need to interrogate your own subconscious understanding of the world. The way we see reality is shaped by our habits, beliefs, opinions, and experiences, or HBOEs. Many of our HBOEs are so ingrained we don’t even notice how they’re holding us back. For instance, you may unconsciously believe you can’t land your dream job, so you make a habit of not even looking for opportunities. 

After you become aware of your HBOEs, you can start making a conscious effort to change them. One strategy is to push back against recurring negative thoughts with positive, aspirational visualizations. Let’s say you often find yourself stressing about money or thinking, “I can't pay my bills.” When this happens, pause, take a breath, and imagine a scene in which you’re solving the problem. Envision yourself pitching your brilliant new product or opening a successful business.

With a little bit of practice and determination, you’ll adjust your mindset from one of limits to one of possibility. And once you truly start believing that positive change is possible, you’ll be ready to start taking action. In the next blinks, we’ll look at a four-step system to make this a reality.