I heard a quote that really made me think today. It made me sad to hear it, but at the exact same time I was so excited to hear it. The exciting part is that identifying the problem is the first step to solving it. Right? Here’s the quote:
Our capacity to dream is limited by our capacity to produce.
— Joel Thomas
Mind explode. It was like he was talking to me saying, “Hey, this is why your ideas aren’t very good.” I felt like I couldn’t scribble it down fast enough, because I didn’t want to forget it. I am my greatest limitation. My inability to understand what is possible, limits my ability to be creative.
For me this mainfests itself in countless ways, but some of the ones that hit home most are: knowing what my colleauges are capable of, knowing what kind of time certain things take, knowing my software adequately to know what is possible, and constantly saturating my brain with what is being done out there. How can I know everything? Well, I can’t. The more I try to know, the more I realize I don’t know. I often wish that our brains were like in The Matrix when they could just upload a program of knowledge into their brains and boom that’s all it took to learn. Man wouldn’t that be sweet. But that’s not how it works. In fact it’s just the opposite.
If you aren’t constantly making effort to learn you will lose it. Even to maintain the knowledge you have takes effort else you will lose it. And yet we are expected to take everything we know, and everytime create something new. No pressure.
We limit our dreams to what is achievable by us as individuals. Yet look at what has been accomplished by men and women who dared to look beyond a safe attainable goal that they could accomplish. One person could not have built the Disney Empire, or Microsoft, or Apple, or Pixar, or whatever your favorite thing is. It’s built through collaboration. It’s buit upon the ability to see what could be done, not upon what I can do.
You see, we all face the same resistance. We all hear the stupid voice in our head telling us it can’t be done, it’s stupid, it’s impossible, it’s too expensive, no one will like it, blah blah, and so on. Yet our society is inspired by those who have dared to go beyond that wall of resistance because doing any less would be the only thing worse than doing nothing at all.
I can’t have all the best ideas, but I have some. I may never invent anything that’ll change the world, but perhaps I could. I can’t do this alone, not just me, God does this first in me, and then through me. He has huge plans beyond what I can even imagine, and all I have to do is listen to his plans, and carry them out. It’s not a light switch, it requires a lot of effort, and discipline, but with those two things a lot can be done.
I want to do things that are beyond my ability, because anything less than that I have unintentionally limited. God show me what you have, teach me how to listen, show me when it’s you, and show how to not make it me. I need your wisdom and creativity. I am dependent on you in everything because you are able. Depending on only me instead limits you.