“What if…”

“"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."

~ TS Elliot

Reflective Exercise:”What if…”

This exercise is designed to help you expand your sense of awareness, possibility, and limitlessness in your thoughts, heart, and daily life. The following are journaling prompts and the goal is for you to approach each with the sense that there are no boundaries, there are no limits, and there is no negative outcome/impact from what you envision. These prompts are designed to push the boundaries of typical thinking and encourage individuals to envision scenarios that they might not have considered possible. By exploring these "What if" scenarios, individuals can begin to dismantle the mental barriers that confine their aspirations and discover new, exciting possibilities for their lives.

Step One: Select the prompt.

The following prompts begin with “What if I could…” Select the one you’d like to explore. NOTE: You don’t have to complete all of these in one sitting. Select one that you’d like to explore and then save the others for future journaling.

Step Two: Set the space.

Open a blank page in your journal (or whatever mode you like to journal in). Close your eyes and imagine you are sitting on a beach on a perfectly clear day. It’s a warm day—not too hot—with a gentle cool breeze making it the perfect moment to sit and be. The waves are moving softly and creating a steady rhythm, and you find yourself matching your breaths to the slow roll of the waves.

Take a deep breath in and smell the freshness of a summer day. As you exhale, say, “Release my mind and heart of any limiting beliefs”. As the breath leaves, you imagine a space deep inside you opening. As you take your next breath in, take in the smell of the salty ocean air. As you exhale, say, “Allow my heart to open to the possibility of anything. As the breath leaves you, imagine the warm sunshine of the day filling your heart with a confident energy. In the third breath, envision yourself walking on this beach with each footstep nestling into the sand, enveloping and supporting you with each step.

Step Three: Imagine & Explore

The goal is to write whatever comes to you as you work on the prompt. Any time you find yourself trying to limit or edit your ideas… stop and make a note of what came up for you at that moment. Then… take a breath and recenter on the image of you walking toward your goals. As you exhale, it may be helpful to say, “As I continue to breathe and walk along this shore, I am free from limitations; my path is clear and open."

Prompt Selection: Each prompt begins with, “What if I could…”

  • Relive any moment in my life; which one would it be, and what would I appreciate most about it?

  • Achieve my biggest dream within the next year, what steps would I start taking right now to make it happen?

    Live somewhere else for a year, where would I choose to live and what would I hope to gain from the experience?

  • Have the perfect day; what would it look like from start to finish?

  • Change my career without any risk of failure, what would I choose to do?

  • Have dinner with a fictional character, who would it be and what would we talk about?

  • Travel anywhere in the world right now; where would I go and why?

  • Speak with anyone (living or dead) ; who would it be, and what would I ask them?

  • Acquire any skill overnight; what skill would I choose, and how would I use it?

  • Live in any era of history, which one would it be, and what would I want to experience or change?

  • Solve one major world problem, which one would it be and how would I approach it?

  • Write a book; what would it be about, and who would be my target audience?

  • Master a new language instantly, which language would I choose and how would it benefit my life?

  • Invent something that could change the world, what would it be and how would it work?