Imagine

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Poem
Youth

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than a body of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.

Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what's next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young.

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.

-Samuel Ullman

Thoughts
Do you remember when you were younger and you used your imagination? How often do you use your imagination now to produce positive results? Or do you often imagine the worst case scenario?

Let me relate a story to you:
When I go to the gym to perform my heaviest lifts I always imagine myself doing the lift the night before and also before I start the exercise. I did the same thing when I fought in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu/Mixed Martial Arts competitions. When I used to run I also used this technique. The other thing is that I don't say things like "I'll try", or "Maybe", or even "I'll do my best". Instead I use "I will".

This allowed me to achieve much greater results than just going and attempting something without thinking about it. I've also used this technique outside of the gym. Before I cold call or just show up to companies, I'll imagine things going great. Without doing this I am sure I would not have even started dropping in on companies.

The point here is that for most people their imagination faculty is rusty. It hasn't been used positively in so long that many have forgotten how to use it. So people just tend to creep through life without ever living. They let things like society, family, friends, or their age tell them what to do.

How can you start to use your imagination more and break this cycle?

Answer this question: What do you want to be, do, or have?

Don't answer that question quickly (unless you already know the answer). Spend some time on it. Really think about it. Don't allow your past results to cloud your thinking.

Of course the next step would be taking action.

Have an excellent week.