IF is something we think about – whether or not that IF happens. IF can be worry or hope, and it holds our attention. “If” and its time-sucking cousin “if only,” can be a tape loop running in your head.
Whether it’s a good IF or a bad IF, it can hold you up and keep you frozen. Here’s a great tool from Tim Hurson’s book “Think Better,” which can help you get your IF out of your thoughts, onto paper and into action. In Tim’s world, IF = Imagined Future, and it is all good. Hit pause on your worries and imagine the future you want.
IF = Imagined Future
I feel like this tools is especially useful right now, bec we are entering November, and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Thanksgiving is a time we express gratitude for the bounties in our life. Gratitude is great and humbling, and it is keeps us in the present moment. If we fast forward to a moment of great gratitude in our future, we can feel what Tim calls an Itch, a desire. We wish for…. what?
What is your writing itch? What is your desired future?
If your Thanksgiving group gathered around the table and were expressing their gratitude for their writing bounties and achievements, what could yours be? Let’s imagine your desired writing future! Let’s start with Thanksgiving day 3 years from now.
Here’s how IF works.
In the tradition of Deliberate Creativity, start by letting your mind think broadly and freely – diverge. Create a list of all the things that you might experience in this new and wonderful imagined future. Stay with the list long enough to explore how it might look, how it might feel for you and/or others. How might your relationships change? Who are you hanging out with in your IF? Are there sounds associated with the IF? (Maybe an announcer calling your name for a prize or prized interview.) Is there a taste you might partake in? (champagne? celebratory cake?) Don’t – repeat do not – worry about being realistic.
Close your eyes and imagine this future. Imagine waking up in the morning – where are you? Who are you with? What thoughts run through your mind? Run through this ideal day in your new IF and feel it.
Now that you’ve lived there in your mind, write it out. You wake up. You are recognized and appreciated by your peer group and by your public. Your work opens doors and connects you to others. People whom you idolize profess themselves as your fans. You feel confident and satisfied as you work.
This is a wonderful way to feel your way forward.
I bring it up now, just before Thanksgiving, bec now is an excellent opportunity to consider what ONE STEP you might take today, this week, this month to begin the forward motion toward this dream realization. Hop over to the FB group, if you’ve written an IF vision, share a step you intend to take to move yourself toward it. And if it serves you and your vision, join the 5 Day Write Without the Fight Challenge that begins Monday November 11th!!! Of course it’s free. And fabulous. And part of my Imagined Future of helping thousands of writers realize their dreams and write their stuff!
So come register for the 5 Day Write Without the Fight Challenge and beginning Monday Nov 11th, I’ll share everything you need to know to get out of your own way and write at your best.