Impossible is Nothing?

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”

I was driving to work this morning, wondering if I even wanted to write and share this.  This entry goes against the very idea of self-preservation. I don’t know what it was about today. I woke up this morning with a choice for change and I guess this blog post is a ramification of that  decision. I am a perfectionist and I take great pride in accomplishing what other people say that I can’t. However, today it made me sick. It is an exhausting endeavor. “Impossible… It’s a dare. It’s potential. It’s temporary.” It’s outright tiresome and draining.

It’s sprawled in my sketchbooks, my Facebook profile, countless journal entries and in the corners of my heart and mind.  “Impossible is nothing,” is a mantra that I have adopted in my life. And yes, I am well aware it’s just a a very elaborate (and effective) advertising campaign for Adidas.

The visuals were so vivid. It appealed so much to the romantic in me – to the dreamer.
Muhammad Ali fighting his daughter in the ring. Nadia Comaneci with Nastia Liukin and the first perfect ten.  Haile Gebreselassie racing against himself, beating his own record NINE freakin’ times. What they don’t show you is reality.  They don’t show you the hard part (a little on that later…)

I don’t remember when I adopted it but I remember why. Fear. We all have it. It’s a by-product of our evolution. It’s what keeps us avoiding dangerous things. A fear of fire or sharp things kept us from getting burned or stabbed. It keeps us warm, cozy and safe. It keeps us from getting hurt physically and emotionally. I am my most harshest critic. “Impossible is nothing,” was my response to my internal self. The one that fears rejection, fears ostracism, fears failure, fears imperfection.

The past few months have been a challenge.  I recognized something that I have had trouble accepting. It is this: Being creative isn’t unique, therefore I am not unique since I’ve staked so much of my identity on that very quality. Everyone is creative. It is part of our human nature. By and large, ideas come to me pretty easily and I realized, ideas come to a lot of people all the time. Those same ideas are drawn and written right next to that damn “Impossible is Nothing” quote. Starting on ideas isn’t so hard either. I owe it to myself to get these ideas started to see where they go. I am open-minded enough to explore the potential of these ideas. Here’s the hard part. Here’s where the fears kick in. When it’s comes time to make a choice – you decide to unveil the product of your creation. At that moment, rejection, ostracism, failure, realizations of imperfection and ultimately self-doubt kicks in. “Is it good enough? What are people going to say? Maybe I can make some additional changes. Are you proud to attach your name to this?” And when you don’t do it, you try to justify why you didn’t do it. You make excuses. You affirm and try to rationalize that it perhaps wasn’t quite ready. Suddenly life distracts you and then it’s on the back-burner. In fact, it probably isn’t even on the burner anymore. To compound that, you refuse to accept responsibility for the decision (not making a decision also counts as a decision, sorry folks).

I also vividly remember Nike’s Courage campaign. I remember the anguish and the pain that quickly flashed on screen. It was real. It was accepting the hard part. Making the decision to ignore doubt and embrace results. That was my choice when I woke up this morning.

So when it comes to the hard part… I have failed.  Countless times over. In those moments, when you sense fear and doubt interjecting itself, challenge it. It is an idea that is easy to understand, but difficult to embrace.

Nike was probably right all along…