"Concentrate on the future and what you will accomplish, the opportunities you own, the dreams you will form, the life you will live." — Anonymous Wise Person

Who else might I have been? Posted Aug-06-2006
Response to Sunday Scribblings #19
I’ve been sitting here for 10 minutes thinking about this question wondering how to use it as productively as possible. Meanwhile, a different part of my brain is reviewing the circumstances, situations, decisions, and experiences that have made up the last 30-some years of my life. And it is the deeper knowing part of me that fully understands that every one of those things has made me the person I am right now. How did I arrive at this very moment engaged in a Sunday morning writing prompt? The answer is in the map that is dynamically generated by each step I take on this unique path — journey — of mine.

“Who else might I have been if…?” As I try to grab onto the end of a thread of thought to respond to this, it occurs to me that answering the question whether hypothetically or realistically is an exercise likened to “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” A million answers wouldn’t satisfy the million hypothetical desires and longings — potential possibilities — lying inside of my soul like unhatched eggs in a nest. I get hung up on simple thoughts such as “If my mom married a different man — I wouldn’t be here at all!"

I could have been born into royalty or into poverty. I could have been raised with more of some influences and less of others. I could have lived in a different country, had a different religion, or inherited a different ethnicity. But the simple truth about my life is that it all is what it is. Wondering about things otherwise seems like a moot point. Who's the guy pushing the rock up the hill? Sisyphus?

However, in regards to the future, rephrasing the question “Who else might I have been?” to “Who else can I become?” has a whole different ring to it. This is actually a cool way to reassess goals and priorities, interests and passions and realize the potential of becoming the person you desire by positively influencing your life towards an outcome (see Acting As If).

For example, rework this:

Q: Who else might I have been if I didn’t give up on my art after high school?

A: A professional gallery-showing artist. Ah, too late now!

To this:

Q: Who else can I become if I begin pursuing my artistic aspirations again 15 years after high school?

A. If I’m serious about developing my artistic side, I can design and follow a firm plan of action. When I do, I have the potential of becoming a professional gallery-showing artist. Meanwhile, I’ll enjoy doing my art again and have a new, wonderful, healthy outlet for my creativity.

That’s right. There's no reason to resign our lives to a “have been” when endless opportunities exist for us to being “can becomes.” What unhatched eggs are laying in your nest? Who else might you become if you decide to crack one open? •

© 2006 Chris Dunmire www.chrisdunmire.com. All rights reserved.