Blank Sheet of Paper Exercise

As you think about the great questions, like who you want to be, where you want to go, and who you want to go with, consider two futures, the Probable and the Possible.  

The Probable Future is the predictable one, unfolding as you go along, meeting likely choices as they present themselves, with periodic course corrections, but none too unsettling or anxiety provoking.  It’s the ‘supposed to’ path. The ‘going along’ path.  The ‘autopilot’ path.  It’s the path of a lifelong dance with Evolution.

You’re probably going to go to this school, or choose this career path, or live in this kind of house, in this kind of neighborhood.  And along the way, you’ll probably fall into predictable routines, staying in your lane, wearing the same clothes, seeing the same people, having the same conversations, until one day you wake up and… well, actually for many people this goes on until one day they don’t wake up.

Think of the Probable Future as being written on a sheet of paper with some of the answers already penciled in. 

This isn’t to say that it’s a bad path.  It’s just not one that will give you that rush of adrenaline or the feeling that comes with accomplishing something that leads you to say, ‘Hey, if I can do this, then I can do that!’.

This is in contrast to the Possible Future, which is that future where you’re less the marionette and more the puppeteer.  This is the path of you envisioning your future, deciding what you need to do to make that future happen, and then setting a course to get there.  Which isn’t to say that your path will never have setbacks or seemingly dull routines, or that your vision of the future is unchanging, but more that the setbacks are viewed in the context of your big picture, your routines are intentional, and your vision is of your choosing.

Think of the Possible Future as planning your own jail break, like a personal rebellion against your status quo.  

It’s a blank sheet of paper, and you get to fill the space.  Blue ink, black ink, crayons, watercolors.  Doesn’t matter.  Write and erase as often as you like. It’s your sheet of paper, and yours only.  There are no rules, no lines to stay in, no ‘supposed to’s’ and no ‘shoulds’.