Our imagination has the power to either cripple us or propel us to heights the previously seemed impossible. Far more than our skills and knowledge, our imagination will determine our future.
It was Albert Einstein who said:
Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.
The imagination in and of itself is neither good or bad. It’s how we use it that matters. If we allow our minds to be shaped entirely by negative thoughts then that will shape how we use our imagination. We will imagine worst case scenarios. We’ll use our imagination to think up all of the things that could end up going wrong. And, in doing so, our future is crippled by our imagination. Our lives end up following the direction of our imagination.
If on the other hand our minds are filled with positive thoughts, possibilities rather than impossibilities, then our imagination can propel us into the future. We become the things we think about. Think negatively and before long you’ll have become a negative person. Think positively and, without even intending too, you’ll have become a positive person. Our lives head in the directions of our thoughts.
Just yesterday I received some really bad news. It creates all kinds of problems on so many levels. Honestly, I feel pretty down right now. And yet I am compelled to look for the opportunity in this situation. There is always something good that can come out of every situation. It’s not easy, but I’m choosing to set my mind on the possibilities and opportunities rather than the potential problems and issues.
Not that I’m in denial. Being positive is about choosing to see the positive in the midst of the negative; it’s not about pretending there isn’t a negative.
Let’s allow our imaginations to propel us positively into the future rather than trap us in the past.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Sam. Long time listener. First time caller.
Thank you for writing this. Many people believe that imagining happy outcomes is likened to actualization hoodoo, and so did I, for awhile, until I realized that every job I’ve held, every place I’ve lived, and every group I’ve entered has been part of materializing a dream (or nightmare) I had when I was younger. Now I’m inclined to believe that imagining things is not so much like fantasizing, but more like making a choice.
Hey Desiree!
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. And you’re right. It’s easy to think of the language of imagination and dreaming and think of it as all just unrealistic. But dreams and imagination are very much the context for making choices; deciding what we’ll do with our lives.