Becoming a Possibilist
David Freund, Chief Leadership Officer

My thoughts and writings have been focused on change over the last few weeks, and I thought today might be a good chance to go back and revisit Possibilists. If we are going to change, why not go big? I believe a possibilist is someone who sees beyond “what is” to “what could be.” They are people who have moved beyond the age-old question of “can we?” to “how can we?” When they make that shift, they are assuming that there is a solution; they just haven’t discovered it yet.

Possibilists also have an abundance mindset versus a scarity mindset. They believe in being rivers, not reservoirs.They have a bias toward giving and sharing, realizing that as a team, they can always attract more resources, customers, or team members. Possibilists believe in the old teaching that if they cast their bread upon the waters, they will find it after many days. The more they give and the more they share, the more they have.

Possibilists are incurable optimists. They see life as an opportunity, not a burden. They focus on being more grateful for what they have rather than concerned about what they don’t have, which helps them maintain a positive life stance. Possibilists are also very careful about who they spend time with. They look for other possibilists and work very hard to stay away from any negativity that will pull them away from happily moving forward.

Possibilists look for opportunities to step out of their comfort zone and try new things. It’s not that they don’t fail; they just look at failure as a learning opportunity. They actually make friends with failures and use them as launching pads to greater achievement.

The most surprising thing about being a possibilist is that it’s a choice. When we step back and look at the characteristics above, they are all choices that any of us can make. How about you? Will you join me in becoming a possibilist in 2023?