Future-Looking

Encouraging you to see your world differently

Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

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Come with me and you'll be
In a world of pure imagination
Take a look and you'll see
Into your imagination

‘Pure Imagination’

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Gene Wilder)

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I think, sometimes, we all get bogged down as we reach for that goal, the thing we crave more than any other.

It’s hard. We want it so much, but there is such a lot to do. Or there is the one BIG thing that has to be done to unlock everything else. Perhaps there are several HUGE things that all feel daunting on their own, let alone when you put them all together.

So the goal, that ONE thing, feels out of reach.

It can feel as though it is defined by the impossible hurdle or the wall we have built around it.

It comes up during Encouragement Sessions* all the time. How do we find that specific key, to a particular lock near the top of a door we can’t reach, a door that is bolted from the inside (okay, I’m stretching the metaphor - we just make the thing we want to achieve too specific and we get downhearted when it doesn’t happen for us).

* If you haven’t heard of the Encouragement Sessions yet, I’ll pop a link below to a piece that explains everything. For now, just imagine an hour-long mentoring meeting on a Zoom call with someone who is bubbling over with enthusiasm.

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There might be another way.

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What about if we zoomed out a bit?

Well, maybe more than just a bit.

Let’s call it effects-based planning.

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Where was it Willy Wonka was taking us when he sang ‘Pure Imagination’?

Hold your breath
Make a wish
Count to three

Photo by Erik Brolin on Unsplash

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Instead of

I am going to write a novel by the end of the year

let’s try

I want to live a life of words, a life as a writer

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Instead of

I’m going to grow my subscriptions by 1000 by the end of December 2024

perhaps we could try this for size

I am going to build a loyal audience of readers, who celebrate what I do, and tell other people about it.

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Instead of

I wish I could leave my job and write full-time

maybe we could start with

Over the next 3 years, I am going to work with my employers to change the balance. It would be good to keep the stability of regular paid work, but I am going to increase the amount of time I commit to my creative practice.

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Could you look at your aims and goals for this year and ease some of the pressure you are feeling by describing them in ‘big handfuls’?

We would love to hear from you in the comments.

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Now, what are those Encouragement Sessions you keep banging on about, Mr Fables?

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Now, over to you …

Make a wish

Count to three

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