The other day I had lunch with a friend who had just listened to an interview I did about my book, The Gift of Maybe. His response was, “How is the mindset of Maybe different from leaving it up to chance?” I immediately smiled and said, “I bet you are not addicted to certainty.” He laughed and said, “Actually I’m not – I’m a positive thinker. When I was a young I read The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale and that was it for me. Whenever I have a problem or something unexpected comes up, I brush off my shoulders and get back to work.” I responded, “You are very fortunate you have the ability to stay positive in the face of the unknown and I understand why Maybe doesn’t make sense to you. However, many people can’t stay positive in the face of the unexpected and that is why we need Maybe.”
Many of us will make resolutions and set goals for the new year. We may want to start a new business, take a new job, save our money for a new home, get married and much more. In January, some of us will start pursuing these endeavors with hope and a positive outlook. But what happens when life throws us a curveball and something we never expected happens? The economy may change, jobs are lost, business profits dramatically decrease or an important relationship flounders. For my lunch friend, plowing through each of these crises is doable and he is able stay positive and focused. But for many of us the unexpected is extremely painful. When we don’t see the results that we hoped for we become overwhelmed with worry and get stressed that things won’t work out or will get even worse. We simply cannot hold on to a positive outlook in the face of an uncertain future. Because of this, some of us will give up our dreams too soon or we will endure tremendous stress and worry.
But there is hope for those of us who struggle with uncertainty; there is Maybe. Maybe is a mindset that reminds us to acknowledge that, for every situation we experience, there are numerous ways it may resolve. Within these many possibilities, Maybe there is a chance a situation that we are facing will work out well or Maybe we will find a new solution or Maybe we will be all right no matter what happens. The essence of “Maybe” or “what may be” contains the hope within uncertainty.
With Maybe we can hold on to our resolutions and goals and just find new ways to achieve them. Maybe we can still find that new job even though a few months have gone by, Maybe we can find new ways to increase our business profit and Maybe we can work on our relationships to make them better. With the idea of Maybe we can stay calm and open because we have the realization that life can unfold in many ways and we are not stuck or doomed because the answer is not clear in the moment. We are not just “leaving things to chance” but instead we are expanding our minds to embrace all that can be. In turn, Maybe shows us more opportunities to find the life for which we long.
So makes those New Year’s Resolutions and set those goals. Just remember to say Maybe!