Life & Therapy

“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were.  But without it, we go nowhere.”  Dr Carl Sagan

As children, most of us were encouraged to use our imaginations.  Some of us had imaginary friends, some of us believed that our stuffed animals were living companions, some of us believed in Santa Claus, and many of us believed the stories that we read, saw, and heard.  I was lucky to be young enough when the first “Star Wars” movie came out to believe that it was real.  It did a lot for me to believe that the seemingly weak forces of good could overcome the seemingly dominant powers of evil. I also imagined what my future career would be, constantly changing it according to whoever I admired at the time, and whatever traits of mine I valued.  When I grew up, I just knew I wanted to be a nun.  Then, I knew I wanted to be a teenager.  Until I wanted to be a cheerleader.  Then, I wanted to be a lawyer.  I imagined myself in all sorts of scenarios with an unlimited imagination of the possibilities.

As we grow older, we are not encouraged as much to use our imaginations.  We tune into what we perceive to be our reality, and sometimes we close ourselves off from the unseen possibilities we could fulfill.  Sometimes, life disappoints us, and it hurts to imagine it being any other way than the way it is.  Maybe there have been too many painful relationships, so we get to a point where we give up hope of our love ever blossoming with a worthy mate.  Perhaps we can’t seem to find fulfilling work, so we close ourselves off from even trying.  We just can’t imagine ourselves in a better life than the one we’re trudging through.

The real truth is that we can imagine ourselves in a better situation.  Imagining it is the first step to changing it.  We all have an abundance of untapped potential, and we can only imagine just what it looks like.  Give it a try:  imagine yourself in the life that you really want to have.  Imagine what it would be like to leave an abusive relationship. Imagine being with someone who loves you for who you are.  Imagine yourself in a job where you get to use your talents fully, and you are rewarded for your contributions. Aggressively imagine as often as you can, until you start believing that it really is possible.  If you can imagine it, you are far more likely to achieve it.