If you are, like I am, someone who spent much of your childhood with your nose buried in a book, you may have heard “Get your head out of the clouds, child!”—or something similar along the way. You probably were told you needed to “get practical,” and you inferred in the process that imagination was only for kids. Or only for “escapists.”
I’m here to tell you different. Imagination is a big, bold, powerful thing. I am only beginning to scratch the surface of its power. But so far, I know it can change the quality of your daily life. It can give you your hope and your faith back. Not only is it exceedingly practical, it’s your fast track to success.
Think of all the amazing technological advances that keep exploding into our lives. Smartphones. Flat-screen TVs, e-reader devices. None of these would exist without imagination. Ways of doing business have changed because of imagination: like Zappos, and its extraordinary customer service. Those famously useful words: “What if…?” spark not only works of fiction, but invention, as well.
In hand analysis, imagination and its applications can be found on your ring fingers. Creativity as an outer expression, which includes the need to be in the spotlight (to have your creations received by the public), and as an inner expression, which embodies the pursuit of excellence. Inventors fall into the latter category. Of course they want their creation to be disseminated, and to profit from it, but their driving motivation is to “make it work,” “get it right,” “find the way.” These folks get really good at handling rejection, because, by gum, they aren’t going to let anything get in the way reaching their end-goal.
If you are ducking your head and saying “yeah, but I’m not creative,” consider this: if you are experiencing any of the following things, you need to be engaging your creativity (via your imagination.)
- Do you feel confused, do you often wonder “what am I supposed to be when I grow up?” or “What in the world is my niche?”
- Believing you are not creative is in itself a sign that you need to turn on your imagination and create.
- Are you bored, do you tell yourself that “creativity doesn’t really matter,” that it isn’t really important? Move that layer of smooth ennui aside, and you’ll find a tremendous yearning underneath. Maybe anger about your creativity not being supported, or believed in, as well.
- Fear of having your creative expression rejected is also a clue. This can be paralyzing to the point of persistent inaction.
- Refusal to use your creative gifts
- Constantly comparing your creativity to someone else’s and finding your own lacking. This serves as an excuse; to you it seems proof, but it’s just an excuse for not taking action.
- Chronic Anxiety. Related to the fear of having your creations rejected, and to the discomfort of never taking action on your inspiration.
- Rearranging your life to be needed by others. Another comfortable excuse, making you unavailable to take action as well as keeping you from having to risk rejection by doing “your own thing.”
If you haven’t yet received your Life Purpose Hand Analysis, now’s the time!
Coach’s Challenge: If any of the above resonates with you, it’s time to pull out a creative project, set a deadline, and do it. Book an opportunity to speak. Decide how many pages of your book you’ll write each day. Creativity isn’t just coming up with the idea and following through to bring it into existence, it is putting it out there so it can be received as well. Combining your imagination with an action plan is definitely the fast track to success. Leave a comment and share your creative goal!
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