about it.”
He threw the proposal back across the desk at his partner and swiveled his chair around so that his back was to the man when he collected the loose pages and left the room in defeat. Dan cracked his knuckles and stared out the window, setting his jaw against the brilliant sunshine coming in through the blinds. There was nothing wrong with their mediocre business just the way it was. It was safe. They earned a decent living. Why did his partner always want to change things?
What do you think about Dan’s reaction? Do you identify more with Dan or with his partner? Are you willing to take risks, or would you rather play it safe?
Now, consider this for a moment. How exactly does Dan know the task is impossible? Has he tried it before? That’s a curious question, isn’t it? You really don’t know what’s impossible until you try it and fail. Even then, it might be possible if you learn from your failure and alter your plan accordingly. We’ve already established that failure teaches success. So why not give the impossible a shot?
Maybe it’s time to attempt the impossible. At the very least, you are likely to get further than you’ve ever gone before. Write about your thoughts on merits or insanity of attempting the impossible.
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You will be considering the impossible for the next few days. Don’t worry, you will not be attempting the impossible yet—just thinking about it. Yesterday, you had an opportunity to jot down your initial thoughts on the merits or the insanity of attempting the impossible. Today, you get to think about what you might get out of attempting that which you cannot do.
Picasso was quite a successful and prolific artist. According to this quote, he attempted impossible things all the time. Could that have been one of his tools for success? Why would he try to do things that he could not do? Did he enjoy defeat? He says he did them to learn.
It’s a bold move to launch into something you cannot do. There is no safety or familiarity in that task, no chance to prove your knowledge and skill. It takes guts to be willing to learn something without the guarantee of success.
That is precisely why some people do it. They want to expand their knowledge, and they are willing to drop their egos and learn a new skill. In a way, they are heroic. It is a wonderful idea when you think about it. You are always armed with the potential to change and grow and learn new things. You just have to build up the nerve to make an attempt.
Your assignment is to choose three things you cannot do at this moment but you would like to do someday. You don’t have to attempt the impossible; just write down your goals for future reference.
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You may not know the name Karen von Blixen-Finecke. However, you may be familiar with her pen name, Isak Dinesen. Karen von Blixen-Finecke was a Danish author who wrote in both English and Danish. Two of her most famous English works were Out of Africa and Babette’s Feast, both of which were turned into stunning motion pictures. She offers very wise advice in this quote about a tactic that can be used when attempting the impossible.
When you are up against a seemingly insurmountable task, it’s best to break it down into smaller, more manageable parts. Then you can chip away at it a little bit at a time, and before you know it, you’ll be surprised to find that it’s finished.
It is intimidating to attempt the impossible. It sounds so . . . big. But if you start with a small portion at a time, suddenly the project seems manageable. Breaking difficult tasks down into smaller parts also gives you minor victories along the road to your ultimate goal. You can celebrate each milestone and know that it is getting you closer to success.
Take a look at the three impossible tasks you wrote down yesterday. Pick one and brainstorm ways in which you can break it down into smaller sections and work on it a little bit at a time. Come up with a date for completion, and then put your smaller goals along a timeline leading to your final goal. You now have a plan to achieve the impossible. When do you start?
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