Our Most Powerful Tool: Imagination

Successful Sunday
 When I was younger, one of my favorite things to do on Sunday was read the Sunday comic strips that everyone knows and loves. Just to get a small dose of humor every week was nice to look forward to. Among my favorites were Doonesbury, Zits, and Hagar the Horrible. I loved them all and always appreciated the comedy even if I was a little too young to understand it sometimes. 

 Even though it was not in the Sunday paper when I was reading it I’ve read and re-read every Calvin and Hobbes that exists. My uncle has the complete collection and I used to read them instead of actual novels or school books. I learned a lot about comedy and other nuances from Calvin; I always appreciated how relatable the concepts were that he tackled to in every situation. There was always some real world, everyday problem and somehow Bill Watterson turned it into an adventure unlike any other. 

 This is similar to when we take a problem and let our imagination blow it way out of proportion. We take our reality and assume the worst, then we take it to the next level and wind up never dealing with the problem at hand. Now I would like you to imagine how we can take our imagination, (see what I did there?) and use it to our advantage. 

 Take something that is stressful like a deadline for work, and focus on what you think about when you remember you have to complete the task. I’m guessing it isn’t pretty; something like if you don’t do it on time your life is over and other horrible things? 

 Right well now take that thought and use your imagination and the facts to create a positive outlook which will help you to achieve what you need to. Take the deadline, and do the math, all of a sudden you realize how much you actually have to do everyday to complete your project on time. It isn’t as much as you thought. Then you realize all the time you could easily make to accomplish this task and all the positive ramifications that will occur when you do what you gotta do.

 As Calvin said best, “I think night time is dark so you can imagine your fears with less distraction.” 

 When we don’t have something to focus our mind on, it tends to lean towards the negative side of the equation. Focus your most powerful weapon on a positive force and you will see how amazing everything you accomplish is.