20 Quotes to Turn Problem-Thinking into Possibility Thinking

A client was at an impasse with a project at work. She told me, "I've run out of ideas. I just feel we're at a dead-end and there's nothing we can do to fix this."

I told her, "One of the most important lessons I've learned over the years is that we can have problem-thinking or we can have possibility thinking.

Einstein said, 'We can't solve a problem with the same thinking that caused it.'

I think we can't solve a problem with the same language that caused it.

The more we tell ourselves we're at an impasse, the more we're at an impasse.

As Tara Conklin said, 'The story we tell about ourselves is our greatest work of art.'

If you're feeling stuck, it's time to tell a new story.

The sooner you switch your language from assuming, "There's nothing I can do about it" to asking. "What's something I can do about it?" the sooner you start coming up with solutions.

An impasse is innovation in the waiting.

Start right this minute.

Literally and figuratively.

Stop focusing on what is wrong, start focusing on how to make it right.

Brain Tracy said, "Never say anything to yourself you don't want to come true."

Refuse to say. "I can't figure this out."

That sentence (and mindset) is deflating and self-defeating.

Replace it with, "I'm confident I can figure this out."

That sentence (and mindset) is energizing and confidence building.

So, what's a "problem" you're facing?

Promise yourself, that's the last time you'll use that word when thinking about it.

Instead, ask yourself, "What do I WANT? What do I WISH would happen? WHAT IF we tried this? What would be an IDEAL solution? What are INNOVATIVE options?"

Those questions kick-start creativity and open up possibilities.

And if you're at a mental dead-end, it means it's time to partner.

Who is a trusted advisor who's been there, run this?

Who has a different point of view who could introduce a new perspective?

Who has fresh experience who can identify blind-spots that could lead to breakthrough?

Two brains are better than one. Teaming with someone could produce a 1+1=11 epiphany.

Another way to turn problem-thinking into possibility-thinking is to review these quotes.

They may be just the right words at the right time to remind us that even if we feel exhausted, we haven't exhausted all the possibilities that are waiting to be explored.

Good luck!

1. "Creativity is intelligence having fun." Einstein

2. ?“Be curious, not judgmental.”?–Walt Whitman

3. “It is always with excitement that I wake up wondering what my intuition will toss up to me, like gifts from the sea. Intuition tells the thinking mind where to look next.” Jonas Salk

4. “Creativity is based on the belief that there’s no particular virtue in doing things they way they’ve always been done.” – Rudolph Flesch

5. "Imagination is the true magic carpet." - Norman Vincent Peale

6. “I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind has to know it has to get down to work.” – Pearl S. Buck

7. If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” – Jim Rohn

8. "Innovation is simply doing the opposite of the always." - Sam Horn

9. "The optimist turns the impossible into the possible; the pessimist turns the possible into the impossible." -?William Arthur Ward

10. “The fastest way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already the way you want to be.” - Reid Hoffman

11. "If you are struggling with fear, procrastination, self-doubt, the problem is, you're thinking like an amateur. Amateurs let adversity defeat them. Professionals show up, do their work and keep on trucking, no matter what." - Steven Pressfield

12. "Too many of us are not living our dreams, because we are living our fears. - Les Brown

13. "The Wright brothers flew right through the smoke screen of impossibility." - Charles F. Kettering

14. “Curiosity didn't kill the cat. Comparison did." - Dr. Bertice Berry

15. “Don't tell me the sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon." - Paul Brandt

Now, go out there and innovate. Envision the possibilities. Dream of what could be. As Gloria Steinem said, ""Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning."