The Limiting Power of Impossible

Impossible is a fungible concept

I recall hitting the 3rd wall. This was somewhere around mile 136 at Gravel Worlds.

Somewhere outside of Lincoln, Nebraska

My inner voice was laced with negativity. For the voice, everything was uphill. Its perspective was 'can't'. Over the last 2 years, I thought I had rid myself of this narrative and voice. But it had shown back up somewhere outside of Lincoln.

I had for most of the race, hitched with a solid group. For most of us, there was no podium. Our prize was a percentage. Finish in some top-whatever-percent. And thanks to the sustained teamwork of this group of talented strangers, things were looking good.

As long as I was with this group, I tapped their Flow and we cruised.

Then I dropped a water bottle. I had to stop and retrieve it. The group hammered on without missing a beat. When it's 95 degrees and you've burned all your matches, without hydration laced with electrolytes and carbs, you are done. I was down to what was left in this last bottle with another 20 miles to go.

And with that, the Flow was gone. Perspective snapped back to the uphill mindset. The word 'impossible' began to repeat itself in my head. 'Impossible' became the mantra, "this is impossible. I can't do this." I feared what lay ahead.

A rider that had flatted 5 miles back caught me. Our chase group had passed him as he repaired his tire. Rejoining the race, he still had us in sight. His goal, catch the group and make up lost time. A supreme physical and mental effort. Hard, but not impossible.

As we rode, I found his Flow and we matched pace. I opened up a mental drawer and found a box of matches waiting, so I lit them.

On the last stretch of gravel before the short single track that dumped onto the final stretch of pavement, we caught the group. Apparently not impossible.

After the race I fist bumped Evan, the rider from California who pulled me in and bought him a beer shortly after the race. Turns out Evan is a clinical psychologist at Berkley.

Here is what he taught me.

Impossible is fungible. People fear their 'certainty belief' of impossible. That fear and belief is triggered by 6 clinical descriptions. And, like all energy, it emanates and engulfs the self and anything nearby. But impossible is still only a belief which is based on perspective and reinforcement, as is its opposite.

He also told me that 'On the other side of impossible is easy'.

At work, as in life, there may be some series of events with an outsized impact, triggering the belief of impossibility. Without some outside intervention, that belief becomes reality.

If you are someone, or work with people with this mindset, 3 things are necessary to change it. It will not change without an influence.

Here are the 3 things:

1. Change the circumstances of the situation.
2. Inventory the root causes of Doubt & Burden fueling the perception & belief.
3. Be, or recruit others, to be the catalyst with #1 and addressing the root cause barriers of #2.

Work, life or play. The approach works.