Organizing Possibilities: Are You Seeing Too Many or Not Enough?
I am one of those people who sees possibility in everything. I see it everywhere I go. What if this were different? What could we do with that? What else might be possible here?
It comes pretty naturally to me.
Then I started working with clients and realized that not everyone sees possibility that way. Some people have a really hard time imagining something different unless it’s spelled out for them: this is what happens, this is how it happens, and this is the order it happens in.
Neither way is necessarily wrong. We all bring different experiences, mental models, and ways of processing information to the organizing process. That’s one of the reasons the exact same organizing solution doesn’t work for everybody.
But learning to see what’s possible, and developing enough risk tolerance to try something without knowing for sure that it’s going to work, can make a huge difference in your organizing success.
What Becomes Possible When You Get Organized?
Possibility isn’t only about how you organize something. It’s also about what becomes possible on the other side of getting organized.
What could you do if you weren’t spending so much time looking for the things you need?
What if simply knowing where your keys are meant you got to the car on time, which meant the kids got to school on time, which gave you enough time to take an extra class, take on another client, or simply relax?
Those little things add up.
Sometimes we get so focused on the immediate organizing problem that we forget to use our imagination about what solving it could actually give us. The goal isn’t just to have a place for your keys. It’s what having a place for your keys makes easier.
That’s where organizing starts opening up bigger opportunities and possibilities.
But Too Many Possibilities Can Create Clutter Too
Of course, there’s another end of this spectrum, and this is the one I struggle with.
Too many possibilities.
So many things, so little time.
When you see possibilities everywhere, deciding which one to pursue can become its own problem. If I had unlimited time and unlimited resources and knew I wouldn’t miss out on anything, it would be easy. I’d pick the next thing, finish it, and then pick up the next one.
But that’s not how life works. We have limited time, energy, money, and other resources. Once you start factoring those in, choosing which possibility to pursue becomes much harder.
And that can create its own kind of clutter.
You end up with unfinished projects. Supplies for projects you haven’t started. Ideas you’re holding onto because maybe someday you’ll get to them. Things you can’t quite let go of because they represent something you could do.
Possibility works both ways. You can have trouble seeing possibilities, or you can see so many that you have trouble choosing.
Which Possibilities Are You Actually Going to Pursue?
This is where I want you to get curious.
Are you ever really going to paint that thing? Are you going to write the Great American Novel, or are you perfectly happy writing articles and blog posts? Are you keeping things for hypothetical grandchildren when whether you have grandchildren isn’t actually up to you?
Sometimes we’re organizing around possibilities that aren’t really part of the life we’re living.
And sometimes we need to expand our imagination instead.
If you tend to have trouble seeing possibilities, start small. Try something slightly different and see what happens. Put chocolate chips in the pancakes this weekend instead of making the same pancakes you always make. Is that a risk you’re willing to take?
It sounds silly, but little experiments give you practice seeing that things can be different without everything falling apart.
You can build your tolerance for trying something new.
Use Your Imagination in Both Directions
Whether you tend toward too many possibilities or not enough, imagination can help you find your way through.
Try things on for size in your own head.
What could possibly happen?
What’s the worst that could happen?
What might get to happen?
And if you’re someone like me who can see a thousand different directions something could go, turn the question around. Which possibilities can you let go of? Which projects aren't worth your time, energy, or money right now? What are you keeping around for a version of your life you’re probably not going to pursue?
You don’t have to turn every possibility into a project.
And you don’t have to know for certain that something will work before you try it.
The interesting part is figuring out which end of the possibility spectrum tends to trip you up. Are you playing too small because you can’t imagine another way? Or are you taking on too many projects, ideas, and responsibilities for the resources you actually have?
Take a look at what’s around you and what’s currently unfinished, waiting, or taking up space. Then ask yourself what possibilities those things represent and whether they’re possibilities you still want.
You may find there’s something new you’re ready to try.
Or something old you’re finally ready to let go of.
