When it comes to success, there are two types of people in the world: those who take ownership and those who don’t. The people who don’t take ownership become victims to their current realities. They struggle to see beyond the here and now. You might say those folks lack imagination. However, those who take ownership see their current realities as a temporary pitstops on the way to a better life. They have a vision for the life they aim to live, and they work towards that vision daily.

What Do You See?

I’m guilty of watching a few home makeover shows on HGTV. Typically the host of the show will walk into a fixer upper with the buyer or client. Each time, the host paints a beautiful picture, seeing the potential in the space and what it could become. If we take out this wall and reface the fireplace, you’ll have a spacious feel as the kitchen flows into the living space.

Inevitably, the clients are hesitant. All they see are the cracked laminate floorings, brass fixtures, and overwhelming disrepair surrounding them.

The current reality of the home interferes with their ability to imagine and create their future.

The same thing can happen as you pursue excellence in your life. You can’t envision that 4 week trip to New Zealand, changing careers, or owning your own business. Those things just don’t seem to fit within life as you know it today.

This is a dangerous place to be.

Pursue a Life of Possibilities

You may not be aware that you allow your current reality to determine your future.

Or, like Rapunzel looking out on the world from her tower prison, you may have a dream for your life. However, you are trapped by reality, and you don’t see a way to get there.

Rather than focusing on limitations, seek a future built on possibilities. Let’s look at 3 limiting realities and how to discover their inherent possibilities.

1. Time

A friend of mine is a single dad who works long hours. He wants to spend more time with his kids, but he also wants to provide more for them. He wants to better himself and be more involved in his community. However, he finds it hard to see beyond his relentless schedule.

Today you may not feel like you have time to pursue your dreams, start a new hobby, or take your kids to the park. However, if you wait until you feel like you have the time, it may be too late.

Have you assessed how you’re spending the 168 hours of your week? Does keeping up on all your favorite shows need to be a high priority? Or would taking an online class move you closer to the life you want?

It is difficult to do the hard things now that will pay off later. However, when you say no to good things, you can say yes to better things. If you said no to watching the Seahawks game on Monday night, what possibilities would that open in your schedule?

2. Money

Maybe you want a newer car, an advanced degree, or to take your family on a cruise. But you just don’t have the money right now.

I wanted to replace my wife’s car with a nicer, more reliable SUV. But we didn’t have the money. After some number crunching and discussion, we are saving money each month that will allow us to pay for that SUV in cash (we aren’t car payment people).

What about you? How are you letting money limit your dreams, successes, and life?

Maybe you need a budget. Maybe you need to stick to the budget you have. Maybe you need to deliver some pizzas or start a side-hustle doing marketing for a mom-and-pop hardware store to bring in a little extra income for the next 10 months. It may not happen overnight, but with some diligence and sacrifice, I imagine you can find a way.

3. Circumstances

Let’s say you want to get that advanced degree or take that extended vacation. But you have a 9 to 5 job that somehow consumes 60 hours per week (like 25% of salaried workers in the U.S.). Yet without going back to school, you have no room for advancement. Outside of work, you shuttle kids to soccer practice, youth group, and piano lessons. Most nights your family has dinner together in the minivan between stops.

There just isn’t room for anything else. At least, that’s what your current reality is telling you.

Take a deep breath. Could you get that degree in three years instead of two? Could you start your own business that would allow you time for that vacation? It might not be viable right now. That’s okay. What would have to happen for you to start that business or apply for a job with more flexible hours? Is there something you can do to get yourself started down that road?

Possibilities Not Limitations

Instead of focusing on the realities of life as it is, allow yourself to envision life’s possibilities. It’s okay to dream big so long as you’re willing to think outside the box or beyond the status quo to get there. Ask yourself the “how” questions. How could I make this happen? How could we restructure our spending? How could I spend my time more wisely?

We have one life to live. Will you look back one day and wish you’d chosen differently? Or will you seize this life and embrace the dream inside of you? Think of the possibilities.

Question: What possibility or dream are you going to embrace? Leave yours in comments section below this post. I look forward to hearing from you.