The Secrets of Visionary Thinkers: 5 Steps to Living in Possibility.

• Author: Robertson, Susan

We tend to believe that famous innovators or other "creative" people have some inherent quality that the rest of us don't have. But the truth is--they don't. They've simply cracked the code on how to consistently live in possibility instead of living in obstacle.

Visionary thinkers see possibilities. Always. Most of us mostly see obstacles, most of the time. We move through work, and life, by addressing whatever the next obstacle is that falls into our path. We problem-solve the next issue on a project, we deal with the next customer complaint, we address the next challenge with our kids. But too rarely do we lookup, survey the world, and make a conscious choice to shape our world to make it the way we want it to be.

Visionary thinkers make that daily choice--to imagine the possibility of a different world, to hold on to that vision, and to refuse to let the obstacles limit their thinking. They live in possibility.

Visionary thinkers are open-minded, innovative, imaginative, willing to take risks, optimistic, and collaborative--all skills related to creative thinking. They regularly imagine, consider, and pursue new ideas and solutions.

The good news is that all these creative thinking skills are learnable! Anyone can become a more visionary thinker by learning to leverage the creative genius that's already hidden inside.

One of the primary barriers to living in possibility is the negativity bias, a cognitive bias, or mental shortcut, that all humans share. It's the phenomenon that negative experiences have a greater impact on our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors than positive experiences do. That seems counterintuitive, but a wealth of research shows that negative affects us more than positive. As a result, we are much more motivated to avoid negative than to seek positive.

Our brains have evolved to excel at identifying potential negative so we can avoid them. It's a survival mechanism, and it happens in the most primitive part of our brain, the amygdala. The amygdala is responsible for detecting threats and triggering the fight-or-flight response. It's laser-focused and lightning fast at identifying potential problems. This instant identification of negatives is what can trap us into living in obstacle.

Living in possibility requires ref using to let the negativity bias rule our thinking. There are a few steps that can make a significant impact, helping us manage around this pitfall and transform the way we think.

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