A Time to Imagine

Is it a time to imagine what you might create for yourself?

When planning, planting, and cultivating something new—such as a relationship, a career, or a project—we naturally want to avoid difficulties. Yet we also want to enjoy a bountiful harvest that lasts a long time. Therefore, we imagine, we plant, and we persevere, hoping to bring into being what we desire.

If we have invested greatly in what is already becoming old and will inevitably fade away, we will resist the process of imagining what else could be brought into being. We don’t want the harvest to end, so we cling to the hope that our relationships will continue to nurture us despite our lack of efforts to nurture them. We want to believe our project or career will continue to generate money and opportunities even though we are being neglectful. We either have to reinvest in those relationships, careers, or projects or admit that it is a time to imagine something new and write a new story that we can live according to.

As a businessman, I’ve enjoyed successes and many harvest times. But I have also had to cut back my operations here and there. I had to plan something new. Fear that I didn’t know what to do, that I might make a mistake, tempted me to look back, but I knew I had to look forward. Paradoxically, being forced to do things with fewer people and resources often led to new ways of operating. Those changes, in turn, led to even more efficient and effective methods for getting things done. I have learned that sometimes, instead of resisting a downturn in a cycle, it’s best to accept it and explore its possibilities. Unseen options may be available. A harvest cannot occur unless we have planned and planted. When you feel blocked and unable to move forward, and none of your efforts seem to be paying off, trying harder may not be the best choice. A downturn in a cycle in business or life offers a chance to observe, assess, ponder, plan, and plant so you can enjoy a new harvest. You might want to reframe the downturn as a time to imagine what else you might create and learn.

Just as there are natural rhythms to business, there are natural rhythms to life. Sometimes, you have to stop, observe, assess, ponder, and begin to plan what else you might create.

Is there an area of your life that is not working any longer? Do you need to establish new habits, and plant something new? What would you like to create if you could generate something else entirely? If you had all the resources you needed, what would you bring into being?

Circumstances change. Unexamined habits can linger and hold us back from planting something new—and enjoying a new harvest. Are you anxiously rushing to regain what was lost and fix what was broken? Maybe it is a time for imagining how you might change your story—and your life.