How To Do Impossible Things.
Be Brilliant In Your Business Podcast, Episode 97
“The steps to achieve an impossible goal are the exact same steps to achieve a possible goal. The only difference is the energy that goes into those steps” - Linsi Brownson
If you could do anything in the world, what would you do?
Is that your real answer? Like your real REAL answer? Or is it the dream that you have allowed yourself to have because you know the real answer is impossible?
Take out factors such as time, money, experience, and responsibilities. Imagine you have nothing standing in your way. Now, answer the question again. If you could do anything in the world, what would you do? Is it different this time?
Without even realizing it, many of us limit our dreams and goals to what we think is possible. This may seem like a good way to win at life...but it's actually counterproductive to our happiness.
Today we dust off those lofty goals from the back of our closet and find out how to turn the impossible into the possible.
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Here are 4 ways you can get started on creating the impossible today:
1. Boost your self-confidence.
Self-confidence is the belief that you are capable of figuring things out.
Most of us fantasize about things we would love to have or do, and our brain goes immediately to “that’s impossible.” And…you may be right! What you want may be impossible today - because you don’t have the resources or skills you need to get it.
But what you do have is the ability to acquire whatever you need.
“The only way something is truly impossible is if you don't ever take the steps needed to make it possible.” - Linsi Brownson
Our human brain was built to keep us safe from harm, by limiting us from doing scary things unless they are absolutely necessary to survive. The problem is, modern-day survival mode keeps us hiding from things that aren’t dangerous. And in fact, these things we hide from are often necessary for our growth and happiness.
Aiming for impossible goals boosts our confidence because it reminds us that we are capable of a lot more than surviving.
The next time self-doubt enters your mind, try this reframe. Instead of “I can’t do this,” think “I may not be able to achieve this today, but I know I can take the steps to get myself there”.
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2. Prepare For An Energy Increase.
This may seem a little daunting for those who are already feeling somewhat (or quite a bit) overwhelmed, but bigger goals means bigger energy output. There is no sugar-coating this one, unfortunately.
Instead of tip-toeing across the kitchen as to not make a commotion as you go for the cookie jar, you will have to take bold strides to get to the cookies faster before someone takes the last one. This will take more energy and make more noise, but just think of how much faster you will get there!
3. Acknowledge Mental Barriers.
Many thoughts of self-doubt can arise through past experiences and traumas. These can be as deeply rooted as childhood. In order to move forward and past these mental barriers, you must first identify what they are and where they came from.
Once you have acknowledged them, you can see how they have created a pattern throughout your life and have contributed to the limitations you have set for yourself. Now that you are aware, you can start breaking the cycle and creating new thought processes.
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4. Practice Your New Thought Process.
Creating a new thought process will not come overnight. It will take time and energy to continuously and consciously choose new thoughts. But, the good news is that your mind is resilient and adaptive and eventually these new self-affirming thoughts will become second nature.
It can be uncomfortable when you are faced with the decision to fall into old patterns or try to expand your beliefs. The uneasy feeling of these two thought processes colliding is called cognitive dissonance and it will be most prevalent when you are at the tipping point of which process you believe more. This is when you must stay intentional in your decision-making to get yourself over the hump.
Bonus Tip: Beware of Cognitive Dissonance.
Each intentional choice you make to move past your old ways can be a struggle. Know that this feeling of cognitive dissonance is all part of the growth process and that with each decision, you will get stronger and closer to your impossible goal. You can learn more about cognitive dissonance in Episode 59: Belief Dissonance.
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Credits: Sound production by hearnoevilmedia.com
Episode 97 Transcript
You are listening to be brilliant in your business, the podcast that helps creative business owners take charge of your time and energy so you can run your business confidently without burning out. I'm your host, Linsi Brownson, and I'm here to deliver a creative cocktail of pep talks and practical tools to help you clear your head, take action, and enjoy the process of running your business.
Before we dive into today's episode, I want to welcome new listeners. I'm so glad you're here and I look forward to being part of your brilliant business. Be sure to hit the subscribe button, and even better, head to bebrilliantlistener.com to grab your new listener goodie bag.
Are you ready? Let's go.
Hey, hey Mavericks. Welcome to the show. Today we are talking about how to do something impossible. Yes, you heard me right. It's impossible. We're gonna do it anyway.
So, this is a question that I love to ask my new clients coming in. I want them to tell me what is something that would completely blow their mind - that they would love to do or accomplish in their lifetime. That just seems you know, impossible, right? And one example that I like to give is being interviewed by Oprah. So, this is the practice that really helps us understand how our beliefs impact our life. How the things that we choose to go after are so rooted in what we believe is possible versus what we believe is impossible. And this isn't only true for really big goals, this happens all the time in the goals that we set.
I'll give you another example. The idea of doubling your prices has most people just completely breaking out in a panic sweat. But the idea of raising their prices, like, 10% is something that they can kind of get on board with a lot easier when we start to really dig into it. Even though most of the time when I'm working with clients on pricing, they can see very easily - they can justify what the - why the price increase could be double - how it's twice as valuable as what they're actually charging right now, it still feels completely impossible that they would be able to ask for that. And therefore, if they want to take the possible route all the way to the results that they're trying to get.
So, that's not a bad way to go, but it's a slow way to go. And it's often unnecessary because the only thing that is stopping them in that moment from doubling their rates, is their willingness to believe that it's something that they could do. So, this is just a opportunity for us to play and understand how so many of the decisions that we make in our businesses and in our lives are coming from our belief that something is impossible, and that we should be sticking to things that are possible. And I want to flip that around a little bit today and get you to expand your thinking, to start realizing that you can do impossible things. And we're going to talk about how to start doing that. But I first want to talk about why. Why go after impossible things? Why shift your thinking to be braver and bolder with what you're asking for from your life. Because don't I talk about the importance of sufficiency and how, you know, creating the stability or the peace of mind in our lives and understanding that we do already have enough. And being happy with what we have. That is the most important thing. So, why bother kind of trying to break the mold on the way that you're thinking about things?
This is a great question and I am going to dig into this in just a second. Before I do, I want to give a very quick last call shout out to any of you who want to do the Game Plan the one-on-one deep dive session with me. The doors are closing for the summer bonuses and for this offer on Tuesday, July 22. So, if you're hearing this in real time, and you have already looked into it, and maybe we're on the fence or just not taking action, or if this is brand new to you, you're hearing it for the first time, go and check this out at Linsibrownson.com/gameplan. The whole point of this is to get more flow in your workflow. So, if you are currently doing a lot of things you're trying to tackle all your to dues, you are finding it hard to get uninterrupted hours - maybe because your kids are home or because the gardeners are showing up at your neighbor's house that everybody's doing construction. If you're just feeling out of sorts right now in your business and what you should be focusing on, I'm gonna help you sort all of that out in this deep dive session. You will have a clear and focused, intentional plan to not stop doing all the things and just do the things that are really going to help you grow and get what you want in your business.
After this session, one of my clients who was already planning a vacation, she had a family vacation planned,and she was actually pretty stressed about it, because she was trying to figure out how she was going to get all of the stuff don and be with her family and, you know, make sure she actually maybe got to enjoy her vacation. After the session, she was like "Oh, my gosh! I can't believe it. I am actually going to take a vacation for the first time since I've started my business and not work". And she's like, "I feel so good about this and so clear on how to set this up before I go and how to pick it up after I get back". She just like "that changes everything for me". And I know that that is going to make such a massive impact on what she's able to do in her business when she gets back from a restful vacation too. This is so important and this is what it's all about. This is what I'm here to do what I really believe in. So, if you are in a place in your business where you would like to have some more free time and just really be focused on making sure that you're doing things that are worth your time. That is exactly why I created the Game Plan and you are who it's for. So, go and check it out. It ends on Tuesday.
And now, let's turn our attention back to doing impossible things. So, why? Why do impossible things when you can take the possible path? And the simplest answer is actually a question. The question is, why not?
So, here's the thing. The truth of our life is that there are a lot of things that we want in our lives that we don't believe we can have. The reason you want to do impossible things is really and truly to show you what you are capable of. Because even if you never achieve the actual thing - if the actual thing you want is impossible, you still are going to win and expand your life so greatly by stretching yourself every chance that you get. When we believe that things are impossible, what happens to most of us is that our brain kind of shuts down. As soon as we think about something we want, like, for example, I want to put a pool in our backyard. And when I think about spending that kind of money on a pool, I think, well, that's impossible. I don't even think about the ways that it could be possible, I just go to all of the, like, the intermediate options, like, "oh, okay, well, that's silly. But you know what I could have is a - a blow up pool in the backyard. Or maybe we could get a Jacuzzi for $10,000 and fill it with cold water", right? So, we start to go into these possible ideas and really what they are is us settling. So, anytime we have this great big fantasy that we think is impossible, we immediately try to go into settle mode. But, the truth of the matter is, having a pool might be impossible for me today, but it doesn't mean it's impossible for me forever. The only way that it is impossible forever is if I don't ever take the steps to make it possible, right? And so, by buying a blow up pool or a Jacuzzi, I'm actually setting myself further back from the possibility of having a pool, right? Because now I'm just throwing money away at something that's short term, that's not very exciting, that, quite frankly, I probably wouldn't even use. Actually, I know I wouldn't use because we've had them and we didn't use them. So, I'm pushing the - the impossible thing even farther away and making it more impossible by focusing on what I think is possible right now instead of actually taking the steps to achieve it.
I'm going to let you in on a little secret right now. These steps to achieve an impossible goal are the exact same steps to achieve a possible goal. The only difference is the energy that goes into those steps. So, you - if you want to achieve a possible goal - let's go back to our pricing example - if you want to achieve the possible goal of increasing your prices by 10%, you will need to do all of the exact same things. You will need to decide on your new price, you'll need to get the guts to tell your clients about it, you'll need to start, like, changing your marketing to be a little bit more about your results, you will maybe need more exposure to get that offer in front of more people. Those are the things that you will need to do to raise your prices by 10%.
The things you will need to do to raise your prices by double are the exact same. You need to decide your new price, you need to have that conversation, you need to be really clear on what the results are that you're delivering and why people want it and you need to be brave enough to have that conversation with your clients. You need to start putting your new offer out into the world and getting exposure for it. It is all the exact same work. The difference is just the energy shift, that is the only thing that has you focused on something possible versus something impossible.
So, you can acquire the skills or the confidence, you can make the decisions, you can get the exposure. You know that you can do all of these things because you're already doing it at the level you're at. So, what you need to get to the next level is to think about it in a new way. As long as you continue to pursue possible goals, you are fostering a relationship with your doubt, rather than your capability.
I want you to think about that as you move forward. I said that going after possible goals, there's nothing wrong with it. And that is true. But, what happens when you continue to replay your life based on small incremental shifts is that you - you foster a relationship with your belief that you are only capable of growing in small shifts, manageable shifts. And that is simply not true.
All of your beliefs are based on your past. They are well practiced thoughts. They're usually beliefs that you picked up during formative moments in your life - things like childhood traumas or humiliations that you experienced - even your successes. All of the past things that happened for you sort of formed this initial thought and then you continued to practice those thoughts throughout the years. So, every belief that you have about what you're capable of right now is coming from your past. And by default, then, that means that your beliefs are limited. You are limiting yourself if you continue to operate based on your beliefs rather than based on what could be possible for you. Everything you've already - you already know or you've already experienced, they're all attached to limitations around what you're capable of.
So, when you go after impossible goals you create new beliefs - this is a requirement, right? In order to do that, you're going to have to choose to make decisions based on new beliefs, rather than your old beliefs. So, you've got to untangle yourself from believing things just because they seem true and start to choose your beliefs - your new thoughts on purpose. But new thoughts and new beliefs feel really uncomfortable, right? They sometimes even seem scary, and ridiculous. This is a great example with the pricing again, it seems totally ridiculous for so many people to double their rates, because that's so foreign to them. It's such a new and unpracticed thought that it's something that they could do. It's like a right-handed person trying to write with their left hand - it feels weird. But, if you want to do it, then it's worth doing the practice to start to get comfortable with it. It's so much more empowering for you to decide that you are going to raise or double your prices and that you have the ability to get there even if it's not today. If it doesn't happen today, this is a practice that helps you get there.
So, that brings me to the how. So, how do we go after impossible things? If you are on board, you want to stretch yourself, and you want to be in a place where you're making decisions because you just want to see if you can do it - you want to see what you're capable of doing, then, you really need to start by practicing new thoughts. And these new thoughts that you want to start with are the ones that remind you of your personal power. They remind you that you have the ability to figure things out whenever you want to. You have the ability to acquire new skills, you have the ability to find the money or make the money or borrow the money if you need to. You have the ability to build confidence in any area that you put your mind to, right? Those are the thoughts that are going to help you build these new beliefs.
And practicing these thoughts are going to encourage you, then, to continue taking action. So, every moment that you would by default relapse into an old belief. Let's say you have a conversation with a client about doubling your rates about your new rates, and they're like, "that's not something I can do". Instead of you relapsing into the old belief of "this was a terrible idea. I should have just done 10%", you really decide that you will be okay with this not working this time and go back to that, like, "I am capable of figuring out how to make this work" and make the decision on how you want to proceed right now knowing that you are in the process of achieving that goal, that you are capable of figuring out how to do it, and that you are willing to pivot and shift and make decisions toward that goal in this moment knowing the whole time that this is progress. This is growth. And that is different from deciding to raise your prices 10%, because that seems like the logical next step.
And the best way to recognize this difference is to check in with your body when you're considering both of those options. So, one of them will feel expansive, and one of them feels contracted. Doing what's logical, but not in line with what you want is going to feel contracted, versus doing something that's scary, that you want, and not having it work out exactly as planned and deciding that you have the ability to make a new decision to move toward that - that will feel expansive.
Use that as your compass to help you really understand where your energy lies, if you are in line, if you are on track with that, and use these bridge thoughts to help you get into that place of "I am capable of figuring this out. I can get the skills that I need. I will continue working on this and moving toward this until I get there".
So, I hope that this has been helpful. I hope this was inspiring and encouraging you to start looking at where you're making decisions based on what you do believe is possible, based on your past versus recognizing that the impossible things you want are actually possible and looking at the ways that you can start to shift your thinking to move toward them. And one last thing, I just want to give you a little bit of fair warning here. What will happen when you do this work - when your new beliefs about what you're capable of and what you're worth, when those start to take hold, you are going to experience something that is called cognitive dissonance. This is when your brain is trying to believe two different things at the same time. So, there's a period of time where your old beliefs are the strongest and then you've got new beliefs that are a little bit weaker. So, you have to work harder to practice them. Or I should say more intentionally, right? You work intentionally to practice those new beliefs and grow them and get them stronger. And then there's going to be a point where you're like right smack in the middle, and believing both things at the same time. This is called cognitive dissonance and it is totally normal, but it's also confusing and weird. And this is exactly the moment where you want to double down on your new belief. So, the intentional thoughts that you're creating, that is when your thought work is going to be the most important in your lifetime - is to get you over that hump.
So, if you want to know more about this - about cognitive dissonance, go and listen to Episode 59. It's called Belief Dissonance that is going to help you understand cognitive dissonance and walk you through - to help you navigate that awkward transition period. So, Episode 59. It's called Belief Dissonance. All right, you guys have a fabulous week.
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