Do you ever wish you could do something, but it seems impossible? Or improbable.  It may not fit in with the image you have of yourself, and your relationship to the world.

When we were children, we seemed capable of imagining many things. We could play games and slip into different roles, become anything we chose. As we grew up, we started to conform to what was expected of us, and the walls started rising. Our self image took on a kind of solidity, and seemed to limit our choices.  We lost touch with our imaginations.

But there is a way to expand our ways of thinking, and open to new possibilities. We need to understand the image we have created of ourselves, and then, try to create new images.

In her book,  Life Choices, Life Changes, Dr. Dina Glouberman tells us that the first step is to create an image of our present situation. She says that “images seem to have the power not only to sum up our past and present experience, but also to sense what lies ahead.”

She also tells us to “sense goals rather than to set goals.” Sometimes when we want to attempt some change in our lives, we don’t take the time to feel our way through it. If a part of you can’t get comfortable with the change the goal will bring about, some obstacle will arise in your achieving it.

Imagine yourself in the future, having the goal you have sensed and set. How do you feel? Then work backwards. How did you arrive there?

When you make a change, achieve a goal, you yourself will have changed. And that can be scary, and uncomfortable to consider. Dr. Glouberman tells us that “If you work on your image rather than on making yourself do something, the desired action follows naturally.”

Become now the person who has already achieved the goal. Try to imagine the feeling you would have if the goal were already accomplished. Work on the image until it brings a sense of completeness and satisfaction. Then take whatever small step you can to begin, knowing the end has already been achieved.

Of course things may not turn our exactly as you have imagined. You are like a farmer planting seeds. The wind, the water, the sun all have to do their work. You are co-creating your future.  Be open to finding out something you didn’t know.

“Imagination is the ground of our being. Whatever we create in our lives, whether it is an omelette or a multinational corporation or a love affair, begins as an image in our minds.” –Dr. Dina Glouberman