Now, I know myself naturally as what you’d call a “worrier”, I am always thinking about what could go wrong.
This actually has practical benefits because when I find myself in a project, I’m always thinking: How could this fail? Then, by use of inversion, I try to find ways of stopping that failure from happening. This is a useful mental model on its own.
The Power of Flipping the Script
However, once you’ve run that model, the question becomes: What happens when you try a different kind of approach?
I’ve come to find that asking “What is the best possible outcome?” is almost fascinating in how it works.
Here’s How It Works in Practice
Let’s say you’re going to sleep after a very difficult day. You have a lot of projects hanging in the air. Put on your magical thinking hat and ask yourself:
What is the best possible outcome? What could happen that would almost feel magical – but is still realistic?
Then just keep that outcome in mind.
The Surprising Results
By doing things like this, I’ve found that in many ways, you start realizing:
- Half the problems you’re trying to solve, even if they were solved, just wouldn’t matter to you
- If something truly matters, then by one means or another, opportunities and solutions related to it tend to present themselves or become accessible
- Opportunities and positive outcomes get attracted to you
This shift from defensive thinking to possibility thinking changes everything about how you approach challenges and opportunities.