What If?

I find it fascinating how the simple phrase "What if?" can work in two totally opposite ways. The question remains the same either way. But the way and direction you ask it makes all the difference in the world.

The first and more common way this question is asked is in a retrospective, backward kind of way. You look back and ask yourself "What if I did this?", "What if I did that?" We usually ask this question with regret, thinking how things would have been different if only we did something else than what we chose to do. While this can a good and even productive question when done without judgement, we more often ask it while still lingering on situations that we can never change. At the end of the day, asking "What if?" this way traps us to possibilities that have come and gone. When you find yourself asking it this way, do so with an open mind and an attitude of change. Accept, learn from it, and let go.

On the other hand, asking "What if?" in a forward-thinking motion is much more exciting and beneficial. It opens up new possibilities and choices, some of which you may have never even thought of. New worlds of action suddenly appear, catapulting you to new directions and hidden paths you may have previously overlooked. It's all about action and creation, seeing all the possible choices lay in front of you and taking one. Instead of focusing on what has been, you open yourself up to what can be. At that one special moment, anything is possible. This is what makes it so powerful. Ask "What if?" in the right way and the possibilities are endless.

One question. Two sides of the same coin. Which direction you turn to is all up to you.