Create Imagine-Time
I’ve been having a tough time sitting still lately. Not being creative. Not planning. Not getting outside the box. Maybe December brings that out with its looming deadlines, Christmas and New Years. Possibly, it’s the latest dismal and gray days. WHY? Well… Now, please don’t ask why; no one quite knows the reason. It could be, perhaps, that my shoes are too tight. Or it could be that my head isn’t t screwed on just right. But I think that the most likely reason of all… most likely my heart is two sizes too small. But, whatever the reason, my heart or my shoes, its easy to just go through the motions and wind up singing the blues.
Being uncreative and just going through the motions is one of the things that shrinks my heart and kills my belief. If I want a visionary and fruitful future, sitting there and hoping it happens…. even praying it happens… rarely, well really, never does it. If I want to move forward, I will need to stop first – and use my imagination. Consider. Create.
What gets in the way? Well, me. Stuff. Laziness. And most importantly, failing to stop doing and spend Imagine Time.
Really, that’s what most of us want. We want a compelling vision for the future. We want a new path. We want plans to turn the dream into reality. And to do so, we will need to not just do something. We will need to sit there. Sit there and revisit what we really want. Sit there with the problem. Sit there and imagine the better future. Sit there to just sit there. And of course, this doesn’t feel like what December tends to be about. To create Imagine Time, we will need to stop worrying and ask: “How can this be different?” “What might a better scenario look like?” “What would happen if I went for it?”
Its clear that an Albert Einstein would practice just visualizing things in novel ways. He would open his mind to think of running alongside a wave of light. He imagined himself accelerating through space in an enclosed elevator. And he was quoted as saying, “ It’s not that I’m so smart , it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
Even before I can motivate others to a vision, I will need to imagine the vision. What if we go in this direction?
It doesn’t take a genius to realize that when we create ”Imagine Time” good things happen. WHAT IF often leads to WHY NOT. Those four powerful words have undoubtedly changed the world. But, will they change my world? Your world? Will we take the time to ask WHAT IF today. Will we sit with a white piece of paper? Will we imagine a great marriage? A great family? A great relationship with God? A great Christmas? A great company? A great solution for what we’re so passionate about? WHY NOT?
No, we were not born with fully developed imaginations. And most of us weren’t taught how to utilize what we weren’t even sure we had. But, WHAT IF a few of us were to simply increase our own Imagine Time today? And tomorrow? WHAT IF we were to become disciplined in blocking out Imagine Time? WHAT IF we were then to start teaching others how to build Imagine Time into their days? WHAT IF we were to encourage our kids to take Imagine Time? WHAT IF?…. WHY NOT?
Could change the world, huh? Just imagine!
Jeff, Glad to hear from you again. It is a thought-provoking post. Kind of like “sharpening the saw”–something we really need, and something that gets put to the back burner and then never truly happens. We really need to imagine, then create in our minds, THEN make it happen. You are so right.
Thanks. Mike.
Good analogy Mike! This is an element of “sharpening the saw.” For entrepreneurs, that sharpening is so, so vital.
Jeffrey, Another amazing post. I love your style. Your insight is “felt” as we read. You wear your heart on your sleeve. What comes out in your writing is that you know our heart as well. Your vision for December is different from mine. I love this time of year. I see it as a “planning” time. One for reflection on the previous 11 and then recallibration, moving to where we need to be and finally “the plan” for execution. So then it is the rest of the year, the next 11 that I see for “doing.” Thank you for your honesty my friend. I love to connect with you through your postings. Denny
Thanks so much Denny! And thank you for sharing your own perspective on December! Always grateful for your feedback!