"What is possible?" is one of the most powerful and generative question I know of. It holds some magical powers! Using this question can open up and reveal possibilities we never considered and unblock us when we are stuck. It can be used for self-reflection, to support others and with groups (small or large). I hope you find it as magical as I do!
"What is possible?" is one of the most powerful and generative question I know of. It holds some magical powers! Using this question can open up and reveal possibilities we never considered and unblock us when we are stuck. It can be used for self-reflection, to support others and with groups (small or large). I hope you find it as magical as I do!
Welcome to the eighth episode of the powerful questions podcast. My name is David Shaked. In this episode, we’re going to take a look at another favourite question of mine. This question is soooo powerful that I wanted to wait for the right moment to reveal it. Now the right moment has arrived and I am ready to reveal and share with you one of the most powerful and generative questions I know of. The question is “What is possible?”. It has the power to open so many doors and unlock unexpected possibilities. If you can’t quite see how potent this question can be, I am sure you will be able to recognise it by the end of this episode!
In a way, this question is similar to the question “What is available to you?” that we explored in the last episode, in terms of helping us become more aware of what we have. But I believe that this question goes even further in its power to get us unstuck and to bring generative change.
It not only allows us to become more aware of what we have, it actually deepens our awareness of many options that are possible for us or to choices we could take, and that increased awareness means we will find the energy and inspiration to pursue some of those possibilities.
But let me start with a little story. For years, I wanted to develop my artistic skills but didn’t quite make any progress. I had a few false starts, but I always got stuck. In fact, I lost the energy to even try. I had convinced myself that art is something I could definitely appreciate and admire – but it was not something I could actually create. If you had seen my early attempts with artistic expression, I am sure you would have agreed that I should invest my energy, time and talents elsewhere. Which is exactly what I did for many years!
The turning point started during a trip to Australia when I was exposed for the first time to Aboriginal art. I was absolutely mesmerised by what I saw.
Large canvases,
pieces of clay
or tall wooden logs
all painted in very vivid colours and intriguing patterns.
I could spend hours just looking at these creations. Knowing that the artists behind those creations didn’t follow traditional art-education as I knew it from the west and didn’t use the materials I was used to was intriguing. I started wondering if it might be possible for me to create similar pieces.
A few months later, during the first Covid-19 lockdown, I suddenly had a lot of free time as clients cancelled or rescheduled many of the activities we had previously arranged. I remember one day walking in my garden and noticing a piece of dry wood on the ground. I picked it up and looked at it, and suddenly thought: “Could I do something with this? What might be possible for me to create with this random piece of wood I just picked up?” I found a few leaves on the ground as well and an old box of paint, and suddenly felt so inspired to play with all these treasures.
Two days later, I had finished my first piece. I felt elated! I enjoyed both the creative experience as well as the final outcome. I continued to ask myself, “what else is possible for me?” Since then I’ve experimented with a few other forms of creative art…
There is an interesting relationship between what IS possible and what is IMpossible.
So many people I work with can easily state what possibilities are not available to them and the many reasons for that.
They might feel that they are not experienced enough or have the right qualifications to take a certain job, they don’t have the budget to pursue something they’d like to go for, there’s no time to spend on a certain activity or no support from their bosses or the people around them to go for something they’d like to do.
We are also used to hearing, in detail, why something is IMpossible to achieve or why we can’t get something we’d like to have. We hear these kind of detailed explanations almost daily, and it starts early… in fact, we already start getting this message in our childhood. As a result, we become adept at describing what is not possible or why something is impossible to achieve.
What we aren’t used to is asking what is STILL possible? What is interesting to me is that what is possible is RARELY the opposite of what is not possible, so if we keep thinking about what is not possible, we can’t actually make progress because that kind of thinking prevents us from seeing what IS possible. We need to change the question we ask to find out what might be possible instead.
So let’s focus on something you are trying to achieve but are facing various challenges and roadblocks with.
It might be a personal challenge or something at work.
I can imagine you have already thought about a few ways to break through the roadblocks you are facing and concluded that those options were not possible for one reason or another.
I trust your judgement. I believe you know your situation and context best and I won’t challenge you on your conclusions. But I do want to ask you: What is possible instead? How else can you move forwards towards your goal? What other possibilities have you not considered yet?
(Allow a few seconds…) What comes to your mind? What doors have suddenly become visible through the haze?
And, let me pose this question again… What else is possible for you? (allow a few more seconds…) and what else?
How do you feel now about your goal? Have you identified one, two, or a few new possibilities you could actually pursue?
This question can also be very powerful when something suddenly changes and, as a result, a path or a plan we had pursued up to that moment is no longer relevant.
It might be that something unexpected happened, the context shifted or someone else pulled the carpet from under our feet.
Often our reactions to such disruptions to our plans is frustration, anger or a debilitating sense of stuckness. Sometimes it’s all these reactions combined.
I’m sure that, like me, you experienced a few of these moments during the past couple of pandemic years.
Whenever I face these experiences, I take a deep breath and ask myself, what is possible now? Or What is possible still?
Time and time again, I realise that something else is still possible and I can still make progress, or that a new possibility has suddenly opened up! The impact of changing my questions is instantaneous - it’s almost like someone has just rewired my brain circuits, and as a result I can suddenly see things differently.
It’s also a great question to pose to those around you who might be struggling with a challenge. Chances are they too are feeling bogged down by everything they perceive to be impossible. Ask them what is possible for them NOW and give them time to “sit with this question” for a few seconds.
And I also use this question with teams and large groups who might be working on a project or a change initiative together.
Often, these teams can reasonably easily come up with many creative action plans,
yet somehow those actions get stuck when people realise that they don’t have the budget, the time, other resources they may need, or the support of those higher up.
When I feel the energy in the team sinks I might ask them different versions of this question, depending on the reasons they are feeling stuck, to explore what else is possible. For example, I might ask:
What is possible to do without money?
What is possible to achieve with a little money?
What is possible to create with the resources and knowledge you already have available?
Or
What is possible to create straight away… here & now?
What is easily possible?
And even, what is possible to do without needing any approval?
You can, of course, come up with and try different versions of the question “What is possible?”, depending on your context and the needs or perceived blocks of the teams you are working with. You will soon realise how this question has the power to inspire groups – not just individuals.
If you ask this question regularly of yourself and others, it has the power to shift your mindset as well as other people’s to a whole new level where so many things become possible.
I’ve heard some refer to this as the “Possibilitist mindset” – It’s a very positive and creative mindset, which is even better to hold on to than simply being an optimist and hoping for a bright future. It is certainly better than being a pessimist.
So… what do you think? Can you see now how powerful this question might be and what contribution it could make to you and to the people you manage, work with or coach? What fresh possibilities can you now see for yourself that perhaps you couldn’t see before this episode? In what areas of your life or work would it be possible and useful to use this question?