As a continuation of last week’s experiment, I’d like to share more of my experiences of saying “yes” to the best in us.  Because of the many years I’ve worked with the metaphor of the future self – always focusing on the “optimal” future self – I have learned that we have much more potential in us than we tend to imagine.  For example, we are often stronger than we think we are and, when life confronts us with challenges, and we rise to the occasion with a resilience and capacity that may emerge in a way that surprises us.  Or, someone may die or leave us and we emerge from the experience with greater equanimity in ways we couldn’t have imagined.

I remember when I had such a strong speaking anxiety that I would have terrible waves of fear before talking in front of an audience.  Little did I know at the time that public speaking would become another career for me, and one in which I am quite comfortable.  I couldn’t have imagined such a thing when I was so locked in fear, but this has been one of those experiences that showed me that we are capable of things well beyond our current imagining.

Over some 28 years, I have invited thousands of people to take imaginary journeys to meet their optimal future self.  In these journeys, I invite people to hold the intention that they will touch into a positive, constructive aspect of themselves that hasn’t yet matured, or even emerged into their awareness.  Consistently, people discover that they have capacities they hadn’t recognized – and they discover the power of saying “yes” to their own potential.  That’s an important part of the process – saying “yes”.  I’ve written about this many times, and it’s the fuel that allows us to move into our potential in ways we haven’t imagined. 

And so, for this week’s experiment, I invite you to play with what it’s like to be willing to experience yourself positively beyond your current imagining.  Rather than making up fantasies that may be unrealistic or based on prior beliefs and experiences, this experiment asks you to simply say “yes” to what’s best in you, even if you have no idea what that may be.  I prefer the process of saying ‘yes” to an intention rather than a consciously-invented fantasy because there are times when we generate fantasies about who we are or what we may be that actually get in the way of the process of discovering things about ourselves that are more wonderful than we ever imagined.

As with all the experiments, this one also asks you to bring along curiosity as your constant companion, to release any preconceptions about what you can or can’t do or be, and to hold an open mind – as free of judgment as is possible for you – as you just say “yes”.  Remember, as I’ve written about before, intention becomes the rudder that moves you into the flow of possibility.  Focus on the rudder, on your intention, which is the “yes” you offer to your own best potential.