The power of ‘what if’
What if it doesn’t work?
What if I take the risk and it backfires?
What if I fail again?
What if I succeed and people expect more from me?
What if really bad things happen that I didn’t anticipate?
The power of “what if” is that it taps into our capacity to imagine realities that have not yet happened.
Only human beings can do this. We are self-reflective, capable beings who want not only to control our present, but our future as well.
The downside is that by asking this question we transport ourselves into a place where we have no control, and our minds can highjack our emotions and psyche. We have allowed ourselves to be sucked into the false belief that the outcome can somehow define us and our essential OK-ness.
Imagine the freedom you would have to try new things if you truly believed that while your choices have consequences for which you are responsible, your OK-ness is never at stake.
Here are five affirmations we offer to help you transcend the negative pull of “what if”:
▪ It hasn’t happened yet and you have no control over it anyway.
▪ Whatever your fear may be … it’s not likely to happen as you imagine it.
▪ You only have this moment. All you can control is what you do next.
▪ There will be consequences even though you don’t know what they are yet. And you are capable of handling them.
▪ You are OK even if you fail, don’t get what you want, or don’t know all the answers.
What if … you began living as if you were successful, happy, blessed and fulfilled?
Nate Regier, Ph.D., is a founding owner of Next Element Consulting, a global leadership development and communication training firm headquartered in Newton. He is co-author of “Beyond Drama: Transcending Energy Vampires.” Contact Nate at nate@next-element.com or 316-772-6174. Visit www.next-element.com.
Interested in writing for “Business Perspectives”? Contact Tom Shine at tshine@wichitaeagle.com or 316-268-6268.
This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 1:53 PM with the headline "The power of ‘what if’."