The Impossible Mindset

The most rewarding work I do is helping people move from point A to point B on this graph. They learn how to do what Michael Neill calls Creating the Impossible—accomplishing more than they thought was possible with less stress than ever before.

Most people actually live their lives to the left of point A where there seems to be a disproportionate amount of stress compared to their performance, output or impact.

They don't feel all that creative, and often report feeling stuck, exhausted and overwhelmed.

The limits of the outside-in approach

Everything we do leading up to point A is done through the lens of self-control, and is a reaction to the world around us.

Because we have an outside-in perspective on things, we can only focus on developing successful strategies, establishing routines, processes, tactics, and habits.

We work to counter-act our biology and impulses as well as outside circumstances like other people's behaviour.

This approach is, of course, productive to some degree. This is how the vast majority of people view life, too. And it can take a person pretty far in terms of reducing stress and enhancing performance.

But a lot of clients come to me, after having spent a great deal of time and energy fine-tuning their circumstances, knowing that they could function at a much higher level. That they still have substantial unrealized potential.

These people have come up against a wall, and realize that no matter how intelligently they manage their inner and outer circumstances, those circumstances are constantly changing and are never fully in their control.

Life has started to feel like a game of Whack-A-Mole. An endless problem-solving exercise. And when they clue into this, they start questioning their entire approach.

The wall they are hitting is a result of living life with an outside-in, materialistic/objective/mechanistic worldview.

Living from the inside-out

To go beyond point A requires people to transcend their current worldview and open up to a co-creative relationship with the forces beyond their immediate control.

People thrive at this stage when they begin pursuing what we call "Impossible Projects" (inspiring 90-day projects that they think have a ~20% chance of coming to fruition in that time frame) in work and other areas of their life while learning how to relax and let go of knowing exactly how to get there.

There is a simultaneous increase in ambition and inner peace. There is a de-coupling of their identity and their results. People become lighter, more self-expressed and you notice a sparkle in their eye.

Most people have a lot of resistance to the Impossible Mindset at first. It's understandable, given how deeply engrained the “no pain, no gain” attitude is in our culture.

But with some guidance and a healthy dose of playfulness, anyone can foster it in themselves and accomplish more than they’ve ever dreamed of with less stress and strain than ever before.

If you're interested in learning more, I'd love to go deeper with you and see how this might impact your life. Just follow this link to request a free coaching session with me.