Choosing Possibility

I recently read Peggy Holman’s Engaging Emergence. So many gems, and this one really stood out as something for me to practice:

TIPS FOR CHOOSING POSSIBILITY Like embracing mystery, choosing possibility is a state of mind. NOTICE YOUR HABITS OF THOUGHT AND LANGUAGE. Are they filled with deficits: “don’t,” “can’t,” “not,” “isn’t,” “couldn’t,” “the problem is,” etc.? Shift your focus from what you don’t want to what you do want. REFRAME. Turn your thoughts and words around. If you’re thinking, “I don’t want that” or “The problem is that we aren’t old/wise/creative/strong enough,” ask yourself, “What do I want?” or “Given all that, what is possible?” HAVE FUN WITH IT. Because we’re surrounded by deficit language, I’m constantly turning it around in my mind. “State fails to pass budget.” I ask, “What would it take to pass a budget that meets our needs?” When we’re presented with possibilities, creative juices flow. As creative juices flow, we become more positive. BE PATIENT. It took years to form current habits. Give yourself time to develop new ones.

So here is my practice: when I encounter deficit language, I’ll play with it and turn it around in my mind. As Peggy writes: “State fails to pass budget.” I ask, “What would it take to pass a budget that meets our needs?”

Where can you choose possibility and turn deficit language around? To shift your focus from what you don’t want to what you do want?