A school teacher scolded a boy for not paying attention to his mathematics and for not being able to solve even simple problems. She told him that he would not become anybody in life. His mother however believed in him and coached him in maths. The boy went on to become Albert Einstein. His mother helped him to explore his hidden potentials and as a result Einstein could imagine his success. Imagination is the greatest of forces. It is the seed bed of everything manifested. Even God had to imagine what He later created. Creation has the three steps of thought, word and action.
It is the quality of imagination that decides anyone’s future. If we take just one minute each day and imagine the rest of the day to be pleasant, successful and joyful, it will make a world of difference in our life that day; it is proved. Imagination need not be confined to a day only; it can be extended to a week, a month, a year or a whole life. There is a famous story of three stone cutters. When asked what they are doing, the first one answered that he is breaking stones, the second one answered that he is cutting stones in perfect shapes and the third one said that he is partaking in the construction of a magnificent temple. All these three were doing the same work. See how their imagination and attitudes are different. Suppose three young executives are chatting in a coffee house. One of them says that a villa in the city is put for sale. One other guy says that he cannot afford to buy a posh villa now and straight away drops the idea of thinking over it. The third one says that he will be visiting the villa after office hours the same day. Who will first occupy an own house? Certainly the third guy, who only could imagine himself to be buying it. Imagination is something more than just a positive mind set.
Recently, I got an inspiring example of creative imagination. A young lady by name Jill is a noted discus throw athlete. Though she used to win almost all competitions she participated, her throws were almost always between 106’ 1” and 110’ 10”. Her coach decided to remove the psychological barrier in her. During her training session, the coach deceived her, first telling her that she is much below one time. In her attempt to retain the old rating, Jill put on the best efforts and that time he lied the measurement to be really 112’ 2”.
Jill went crazy. In the district meet that happened after 24 hours, she won with a personal best toss of 114' 10"! Eleven days later at the State Discus Event the same Jill finished with 118' 1"! Amazing!!! What changed her in the 12 days was the trick, the coach played. It was not her technique, not her workouts, not her strength level, not her build. The coach had deceived her at measurements, finally giving her an idea that she has broken all past ratings. The entire change occurred between her ears and her heart. She believed that she had broken through. The coach later said that it was not he who was lying but it was Jill who was deceiving herself by affirming that it was her maximum that she is doing.
There was nothing strange in what Einstein’s mother also did; disappointed parents naturally give special training to their children. The difference with Einstein could be that his mother could set a clear goal in him and could help him not to lie to himself. Psychologist, Shad Helmstetter reminds us that God has awarded each human being with tremendous abilities and talents. Those talents are to be exploited. It is possible with taking control of the mind. She says that 70% of our self-talk is negative. (Self-talk is what we say to ourselves about ourselves).
