Logically speaking, nothing is impossible. Statistically, on the other hand, there are many things that are improbable, or unlikely. By definition, the word improbable implies that there is some probability. Saying there is little probability is the same as saying there is a probability.
Given that, as things stand today, the only thing that is impossible (as far as I know) is bringing someone back from the dead, let’s focus on the things that are improbable or unlikely.
It is unlikely that a person with a disability will become president of the United States, and it was even less likely that a Black person would become president of the most powerful nation on the planet. It is improbable that someone with a lung condition will become a boxer. It is unlikely that a person with schizophrenia will win a Nobel Prize.
(Read: 4 people who overcame their limitations)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt knew it was unlikely he could become president of the US. Barack Obama, at 18, thought it was impossible that he would ever govern the United States, although at some point he came to think it was merely unlikely, and he fought for that probability. So did John Nash, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was considered the best teacher a student could have. He wasn’t the friendliest or the sanest, but he fought for his slim chances and went on to win the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1994.
For any young person with a lung condition, becoming a boxer is unlikely, and becoming world heavyweight boxing champion practically impossible. Or rather, unlikely; and if you fight for those slim chances, as Mike Tyson did, a lung condition shouldn’t hold you back.
So if we redefine the concepts, the words “unlikely” and “improbable” simply tell us that there is an added level of difficulty. The things that are really worthwhile are rarely easy; otherwise everyone would achieve them. As we give the best of ourselves, we take away improbability and add probability.
As we push ourselves and face difficulty, we feel more and more comfortable outside our comfort zone, until there comes a point where difficulty and probability are evenly matched. We gain self-confidence thanks to the hard work and effort we constantly put in.
Over time, through hard work and effort, we realise that everything is as improbable as it is probable, and once we are clear that everything we set out to do depends solely on our own effort, probability and improbability disappear and we see that everything is achievable, possible and probable.
Now think about your current situation, your goals, what you would like to achieve. It doesn’t matter how high those goals are. There is nothing wrong with thinking it unlikely that you will reach them, as long as you are clear that every time you call something improbable, what you are really saying is that it can be done. The question is: “What are you willing to do to reach your goals and objectives?“
See also: 4 ways to trick your brain into being happier, according to neuroscientist Alex Korb
Further reading
- 5 keys to excelling at whatever you set out to do
- 7 psychological traps that hold back your success
- 18 business lessons you’ll learn sooner or later
- Steps to reach your goals in life and in business
Featured image: Peter Badge / Typos1, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
