On Jan. 29, 1886, Carl Benz applied for a patent for his vehicle powered by a gas engine. On Dec. 17, 1903, the Wright Brothers proved that a flying machine was possible. On March 7, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell spoke the words “Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you” into the newly patented telephone. On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister became the first runner to break the 4-minute mile at 3:59.4.
These are all accomplishments that were once thought impossible. But the people who achieved these accomplishments always believed they were possible.
How does this apply to us, you might ask? As a Boomer or beyond, you may not be thinking of setting any land speed records or creating some new technology. But you could, if you wanted to, because YOU ARE POSSIBLE.
When I studied coaching, I learned about what we referred to as GAILs.
G-gremlins
A-assumptions
I-interpretations
L-limiting beliefs
These are the thoughts in our mind that stop us from believing in ourselves or stop us from believing that what we want is possible.
Let’s look at how this might have applied to Roger Bannister being the first person to ever break the 4-minute mile.
Imagine if Roger had the Limiting Belief that he just was not fast enough to break the 4-minute mile. He never would have tried.
Imagine if Roger had Interpreted all the scientific evidence at the time which said that men were not physically built to run a mile in less than 4 minutes. He never would have tried.
Imagine if Roger had Assumed that because others had tried it and failed, it was very likely that he would fail too. He never would have tried.
Imagine if the Gremlin voice in Roger’s mind told him he was crazy to try, who did he think he was that he could so something no one else had ever done. If he listened to that voice, he never would have tried.
But Roger believed in himself. He believed it was possible and when the doubtful voices came up, Roger was able to tell them that he still believed it was possible. And he tried and he did it!
Now I have to put a caveat on this. Roger had talent and passion for running. You can’t just “believe yourself” into something that you have no talent or passion for. I am not an athlete and running is not my thing, and running a mile in 4-minutes is not something I want to do.
But I’M POSSIBLE in the things that I have a passion around. Like building a Hey, Boomer community. Who would have thought that 6 months ago, that one introductory Facebook Live would have grown into a weekly show with amazing guests? Now we are looking at what is next. We are looking at how we could expand the Hey, Boomer community into more than just a broadcast. At times it is so exciting, I feel like Snoopy doing the Happy Dance.
At times it is scary, especially when my Gremlin voice starts asking me, “who do you think you are to think at 67, that you could be creating something that could benefit so many people and build a collaborative community for Boomers and Beyond?” And as I start to shrink under that Gremlin’s voice and stare into the abyss, I hear my heart saying, “But you can do this, and you are not alone.” So when my Gremlin voice pipes up and tells me what I am thinking and dreaming is IMPOSSIBLE! I turn around and tell that Gremlin, I’M POSSIBLE!
And YOU ARE POSSIBLE too. At times, when we feel lost, small or tired, it is difficult to even imagine what we want to do. I have been there; we have all been there. Please remember, you are not alone. You are part of the Hey, Boomer community. Reach out. When you feel like something is IMPOSSIBLE, the word really means I’M POSSIBLE.
