Once upon a time when we were very young, anything was possible. Was it not? We tried things – like jumping off roof with a bed sheet tied over our shoulders to our neck so that we could hold the edges in our hands and fly; or believe we could grow up to marry a prince (never mind that it would take many years before we knew if it would actually happen – it was still possible). These and other possibilities didn’t always work out quite the way we wanted or expected. But our imaginations worked.

As we grew older, we realized that just because something was possible, that didn’t necessarily make it probable – like having that cute person who sat two rows over in the classroom, and who we had never talked to before Wednesday, asking us out on a date for Saturday night; like playing basketball on the team before we hit our growth spurt but after everyone else on the team had already had theirs; like acing a test we hadn’t studied for in a subject we didn’t like.

And now, what are the possibilities for us? Are they probable? Winning the lottery? Getting 20 million followers on TikTok or Instagram within a month? Having highway patrol always giving you only a warning instead of the speeding ticket you probably deserved? Building the life of our dreams?

Now that we know a bit more about life and how it works, we know that possibilities are still there – like finding the job of our dreams working with people we respect and enjoy being around; like having a date that is fun, even if it leads to nothing more than that one, or maybe one more, date; earning enough to meet all our needs and most of our wants - and that we can increase our odds of probabilities by the inner work that we do. That inner work includes recognizing and adjusting the beliefs that we have, the fears we face and overcome, the risks we’re willing to take, the practicing we do a little at a time to achieve something and make it come true.

Now we can look at possibilities and decide what we’re willing to do to turn them into probabilities and opportunities for growth, personal development, progress, and joy. And just for fun, remember, you have to at least buy a ticket if you want to win the lottery. Otherwise it may still be possible, but not at all probable.

What are you willing to do, or think, or believe, or practice, to turn your possibilities into probabilities and then into realities?

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