Imagine the Possibilities
/Benjamin Zander is the founder and long-time conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. He also taught at the New England Conservatory of Music and created the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. He has an exuberant personality and passion for helping people fall in love classical music. In his book, The Art of Possibility written with his wife Rosamund, he teaches us the power of imagining the possibilities in our lives.
Zander’s philosophy is to live as though anything is possible.
As a teacher, he noticed that highly talented students were dimming their giftedness to meet the grading criteria of the professors. He saw them play it safe, stop taking risks, and play their instruments more timidly instead of playing from their souls. So, he designed a way to stretch the students into their creative potential.
In August, at the beginning of each school year he assigned a letter writing project to his students. They were to date the letter as the last day of classes in May and the letter was to begin with “Dear Mr. Zander, I earned my A because…” Then they were to explain who they had become as a musician during this school year and what outstanding things they had accomplished. He wanted them to dream big and stretch beyond what they thought they could do. If they achieved that, then it was a guaranteed A in the course.
If they turned in a letter with something easy to achieve, he gave it back to them to stretch themselves further. Zander tells in his book that almost every student reached their goal. Many surprised themselves. They played pieces of music they once thought were impossible for them to play. They guest conducted symphonies. They were invited to play in famous concert halls. All which began as dreams of what might be possible.
Zander describes that writing it down created the vision of possibility in his students. He watched them transform into the person they hoped they could become. He tells that after writing the letter, it “changed the whole atmosphere of the class” and that students began “floating into the room” instead of walking in with dread. They were lighter because they were living into their possibilities rather than limits. They recognized their own potential.
What areas of your life might need a dose of the spirit of possibility?
When I first read Zander’s book it was 20 years ago when I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I picked it up in the airport bookstore on our way to Arizona. My husband and I were going for a long weekend to sit in the sun before I was to start a medication that was likely to have tough side effects. As I read Zander’s thoughts on the power of believing in possibilities, it filled me with hope and our mantra became “imagine the possibilities.” When I would get worried about what was ahead Rob would say, “imagine the possibility that they find a cure.” When I was afraid of the medication Rob would say, “imagine the possibility that it works with no side effects.” Throughout our marriage, we have continued to use this phrase when one of us feels stuck or worried.
When you notice that you are preparing for the worst, see if you can challenge yourself to imagine the great possibilities.
Many of our brains like to imagine the worst-case scenarios, and we forget to consider the best-case scenarios. If you are worrying about something, experiment with turning the worry into positive possibilities. If you are seeking a sense of purpose, allow yourself to imagine the possibilities and see what begins to align for you. If you are afraid of taking a risk, imagine that it goes amazingly well. If you are afraid to fall, imagine that you fly.
Imagine the possiblities.
Live in possibility.
It is all possible.
I’m on this journey with you,
