Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing. – Muhammad Ali
The 4 minute mile - once it was considered impossible.
What does that mean?
This is another famously shortened-for-twitter quote. The full quote is as follows:
“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” It has also been seen attributed to John Maxwell in the 2006 book The Difference Maker.
To me, this quote is about artificial limits. The term ‘impossible’ was used to describe the four minute mile. It was used for the 10 second 100 meter dash. The word was used for manned flight, space flight, supersonic flight. It’s a term that has been used so often, it’s practically a joke.
And that is what the quote is about, isn’t it? Impossible is nothing more than a challenge. It’s a goal, an obstacle to be surmounted, overcome, or destroyed. Impossible rarely stands the test of time, it is a temporary obstacle. Doing the impossible, it happens all the time. Don’t let the word intimidate you, don’t let the word scare you, don’t let the word slow you down.
Why is not stopping important?
Now I’m not talking about insisting on pushing open a door that says pull on it (like the famous Farside cartoon, featuring a ‘gifted’ child). This is about not giving up on your dreams and goals. It means modifying your actions based on the results you are achieving, and trying again.
Perhaps you won’t be the person who makes it happen. History is full of people who tried and failed. But their failures were pointing towards the successes eventually realized by others. By not stopping, you lay the groundwork for success, either yours, or for those who follow after you.
Some research takes lifetimes. Imagine where the Human Genome Project would be without the contribution of generations of geneticists, dating all the way back to the mid 1800’s and Gregor Mendel, as well as all the people who have subsequently worked to find out how life works at the cellular level and below.
Now look towards the future. How long will it be before we are able to counter all forms of disease, as well as invasive bacteria and viruses at the genetic level. But we will only be able to do that if the present geneticists don’t give up because they think it to be impossible to achieve.
Where can I apply this in my life?
To quote a famous line from The Princess Bride, Inigo: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” The word in question was “INCONCEIVABLE!”, which means something is impossible to think of or conceive. That’s pretty much the same as saying it is impossible, right?
That has been the history of the word ‘impossible’ throughout human history. Some people let the word ‘impossible’ stop them, others take the word as a challenge. How do you react to the word? I normally giggle a little, as I am familiar with the history of mankind and the word impossible.
While I have lived most of my life in the general vicinity of the edge, most of the ‘impossible’ things I’ve done have been fairly mundane. Mostly they’ve been of the “it’s impossible for you to do” kind of things. I can’t think of anything I’ve done that would have been considered impossible for anyone in humanity to do, but what I have done has been by dogged persistence.
Whether it’s getting back into a University after flunking out (did that, both flunking out and getting back in), or landing your dream date, you just don’t stop. You keep working on it. You keep coming up with different methods, working different approaches, until you get what you’re after.
If you’re having no luck (nobody will return your calls), consider what is important. Why did you want to get back into school? How else can you achieve the goal? Separate the actual goal from the path towards it. If you were there to get a degree, where else can you go to do that?
If you were there because you wanted to graduate from that school in particular, perhaps you can prove yourself at another institution, then transfer back. Another option would be to go back for grad school, after graduating from a different school. By determining exactly why you wanted it, you can find a way to get what you need.
So next time you are worried that you will be unable to do something, or someone tells you it’s impossible, consider why you are attempting it. Is it for fame, fortune, the challenge, or just because it’s there? If you know why, you can succeed when others might give up and agree that it is impossible.
Know why you are doing something, and be prepared to continue trying, even if the original task is abandoned. Otherwise you may find yourself stopped, facing an impossible situation. And that doesn’t make much sense, does it?
From: Twitter, @AR_Foundation
confirmed at : http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_wrote_the_quote_impossible_is_nothing and at http://www.reference.com/motif/Entertainment/impossible-is-nothing-quote but with a different attribution.
Photo by Chris Kantos
