Years ago I called the concept of “willingness” a soft piece of magic.

That meant that it wasn’t in your face, abracadabra, presto magic, but just as effective in its subtlety.

“Willingness” does create magic by creating options – options before unseen because we were unwilling to look for them. Attribute our unwillingness to look as “set in our ways” or “stupid.” Either description works.

When you insist you have the way and the way isn’t working, has never worked and, by all accounts, will never work, you are stuck and stupid.

Willingness is the glue remover.

As I wrote many moons ago:

“Willingness is not an agreement to do anything other than to entertain options.

Options open the barn doors wider giving you a clearer vision of the entire landscape. If we can only see what’s right in front of us, we corral ourselves into the barren land of one option.

Willingness opens our eyes. And all we need to do is be willing to be willing.

What makes willingness such an attractive option is knowing that you don’t have to choose any alternative that surfaces during this process. You create a safe haven for your limiting belief, knowing you can go back to it at any time.

It’s like wearing your comfortable, worn out, old slippers to the shoe store. No one is asking you to trade them in for a new pair, only inviting you to look around and try things on if you like. No pressure, just options.

When you determine that it can only be one way, you have demonstrated the limitation of obstinacy and hubris rolled into one. You have decided that your un-compared selection is more applicable than infinite choices. That’s a major case of what Dr. Dave Dobson diagnosed as RCV (Rectal Canal Vision).”

Want to remove some of life’s hard edges? Start by entertaining the notion that there is another way besides yours and be willing to try on some new shoes that have the option of walking you softly in the direction of magic.

All the best,

John