I love impossible problems, because they aren’t! There is no such thing as an impossible problem – what you actually have is a problem that current thinking can not solve. It is deemed to be impossible by everyone because everyone is thinking about them the same way. Which is why some people are able to solve the impossible – they challenge the thinking and assumptions, let go of what is ‘true’ and start from scratch. If anything was possible, how would it happen ?
When you think about a problem you don’t actually see the problem, you see a package called “the problem” which has a problem but mostly a lot of thinking that other people have done. This thinking is carefully presented as a series of conclusions and assumptions all of which create the limits that declare the problem to be impossible! Chances are, you don’t even know what the actual problem is, you just assume you do.
To turn the impossible to the possible you have to start at the beginning, with what it is you want to create and then you have question everything you think you know about where you are, what you have, what you can do, what you can get and what is possible, Every “can’t” statement needs to be challenged, every absent requirement investigated. Then, you start again, forgetting about how other people have thought about it and seeing if you can find another way to ‘there’ that doesn’t go through what other people have assumed and concluded.
Was it possible to become the deepest woman in the world ? Not if you talked to the experts (one of which was the Deepest Man himself). To become deepest you needed, experience (no-one knew how much, but more than I had), you needed a team of at least 8 people (6 more than I had). You needed unlimited equipment, cash, a dive site that gave you the depth (there are only two cave sites in the world that get you below 200 meters). Then there is the how of diving deep. You have to have a manifolded twin set because when you are deep you don’t want to be running out of gas and then having to spit out one dv and grab another, so the guys just increased the size of the twin set (Nuno, dived with 4 cylinders manifolded together, I can not physically manage the base requirement, twin 18litre cylinders). So, was it impossible for me to become deepest ? Yes under those rules. But here is the thing, they were only rules because no-one had asked how it could be done if you didn’t do it that way ? No-one was asking why we did things this way and how we could manage the risk differently ?
Even today people fall into the trap in diving. You do it this way! Which means there are a whole lot of dives that are impossible, until you invent a new way.
When I started to let go of how everyone said it had to be done and invented a way I could do it with what I had, understanding the unique risks inherent in my dive, was I able to break the world record – and I broke every rule to do it. I did do an unheard of 146 meter solo penetration into an incline shaft with two support divers, three sets of gear, swimming at 110 meters with twin 15’s not 18’s (way too small to carry the volume of gas needed),
The step that required me to stop using other people’s thinking, rules and assumptions and find my own was the hardest part of getting deep.
Are you entertaining unconscious limits ?
Almost definitely. Limits are choices and mostly unconscious ones at that. Listen to the way you talk about what you want to do. Listen to the way the people around you talk about it. Every time you hear the words, “I Can’t! “ or “It’s impossible!”, stop and ask yourself what limits you agreeing to and are they true ?
Do you even see these assumptions and limits ?
Is there a way around them ? What would that look like ? If you let go of all limits and started from the beginning with just two things in the equation, ‘here’ and ‘there’ – would that change how you get there ?
How would you do it if there were no limits ? And yes, by no limits I do mean unlimited time and money!
There is no such thing as an impossible problem! There is however restrictive thinking that is making you think and act like it is impossible.
To turn the impossible to the possible all you need to do is change the way YOU are thinking about it!
Think about your world differently !
Live with Dare! Create the Life you want to Love!