Bruce R. Cross

Are there times in your life where the seemingly impossible is staring you in the face and will not disappear?

Is the path before you laden with obstacles, small and large, which stop your forward progress before you dare to take the first step?

Does the inaudible voice inside your head scream to get your attention, “Don’t even try to do this, it cannot be done!” ?

Has the weight of self-limiting thoughts squeezed you so hard that every bit of imagination and desire to think in terms of the “possible” vanished?

If so, you are not alone!

Without going into great detail, I have been bombarded lately with wave after wave of thoughts telling me:

• “It’s useless, nothing is going to change.”
• “Try all you want, you won’t succeed”.
• “You are stuck with your situation; it is what it is and there is nothing you can do about it.”

Unless I intentionally change the tuner to a different frequency, the thoughts will morph into actual beliefs.

I cannot allow that to happen.

I can recall many times encouraging the ladies on my basketball team, “do not let what you cannot do, interfere with what you can do!”

Perhaps it is time to down some of my own medicine.

Thank God for the input of others and timely answers to my prayers.

I read a post earlier today written by my friend, Jen McDonough. A nugget she shared had the effect of nudging my thoughts in a more positive direction.

Jen states, “Stepping into your fears will bring you to the most thrilling achievements in your life.”

I was also reminded of a book I read last year, Do the Work, by Steven Pressfield.

In the book, Pressfield asserts the following:

“There is an enemy (which he identifies as the Resistance). It is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is enormously powerful. It saved my life, and it will save yours.”

Recalling the book allowed me to take aim at an identified target and begin the process of moving in the direction of the “possible”.

As beneficial as these thought vitamins were to me, consuming a visual anecdote tipped the scales in favor of destroying the aforementioned thoughts determined to take me down.

I’d like to thank my son-in-law, Jeff, for passing along the video I share with you today. It turned the tide for me!

As you begin to watch the video if your thoughts are anything like mine you might be saying, “this guy is nuts”.

You might have a point.

Danny MacAskill, the mountain biker, returned to his native home on the Isle of Skye in Scotland to take on a death-defying ride along the Cuillin Ridgeline.

At the outset of the short film Danny states:

“Growing up in Skye, the Cuillins for me have always been a very inaccessible place…I always wondered if it would be possible to ride my mountain bike up there”.

I do not think I will be saddling up with Danny anytime soon!

However, he allowed me to travel with him in the theater of my mind to many, many places.

In thinking of his quest, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

He entertained “the possible” instead of succumbing to the impossible.

As you watch the clip, allow the scenery to overwhelm you.

It will!

More importantly, let the “possible” drown out the “impossible” circumstances you may be facing.

Step into your fears.

Do the work.

Allow what’s possible to take you to places you otherwise thought were impossible.

As you do, consider this truth:

“Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Matthew 19:26 (NLT)

What seemingly impossible thing in your life can be overcome be entertaining what might be possible?