Tiny Wisdom: On What We Envision

“We are limited, not by our abilities, but by our vision.” -Unknown

Have you ever cut yourself off right in the middle of imagining a possibility? I did it to myself earlier today. As I wrote in my recent blog post about needing less money, I am happiest when I have enough, but don’t devote countless hours to the pursuit of abundance.

Today I was thinking about a world where I could take care of all of my needs through barter, when suddenly I stopped short and thought, “All is a little unrealistic.” I then started making a mental list of all the things I would still need money for, regardless of which items and services I could get in trade.

Suddenly I realized I had limited my ability to imagine what could be by immediately fixating on what I assumed couldn’t. By jumping to what didn’t sound realistic, I paralyzed myself before I had a chance to visualize a new reality.

I suspect a lot of us do this often. In the process, we snuff out our enthusiasm before we get to see how far it could take us.

Just because we envision something, that doesn’t mean it will manifest as we saw it–but it won’t even have a chance if we don’t let ourselves dream. Dreaming leads to planning leads to doing leads to creating. Why not dare to dream?

Today if you find yourself limiting your visions, ask yourself: What amazing possibilities could I create if I forgot about what sounds realistic?

Photo by @sahxic < twitter

About Lori Deschene

Lori Deschene is the founder of Tiny Buddha. She started the site after struggling with depression, bulimia, and toxic shame so she could recycle her former pain into something useful and inspire others do the same. She recently created the Breaking Barriers to Self-Care eCourse to help people honor their needs—so they can feel their best, be their best, and live their best possible life. If you’re ready to start thriving instead of merely surviving, you can learn more and get instant access here.

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