"What if..." we used these two words for good instead of evil?

Are you someone who uses the words 'what if' for good, or for evil?

Call it well-intentioned evil - we’re generally not out to cause it on purpose. We use ‘what if’ to keep ourselves safe, protect ourselves from what we imagine might go wrong. But using ‘what if’ in this way also makes sure we stay small and don’t take the risks required to change or grow or create strange and wonderful magic in the world.

What if… (see what I did there) we instead used the words ‘what if’ for good? To encourage ourselves and each other out of our comfort zones, to expand our horizons, to explore what might be possible?

But what if I fail?
What if it doesn’t work out?
What if I look stupid?
What if people laugh?
What if I find out I can’t?
What if I’m not good enough?
What if the sky falls?
What if the world ends?

Yeah, those things might happen. But...

What if it worked?
What if I did this?
What if I asked this person for help?
What if I tried?
What if I learned something new?
What if I surprised myself?
What if I found that making mistakes was actually kind of okay?
What if I created something magic?
What if I shared something and it helped someone?

What if (see, I’m doing it again) we tried to catch ourselves in what-if-anxiety and learned to transform it into what-if-curiosity?

What if I failed… wait. What if I failed and instead of failure meaning the end, it was just another step on the path?

What if I’m not good enough… wait. What if I could find a way to make this work?

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to see what happens if you start playing with what-if-curiosity instead of what-if-anxiety. And then report back - I’d love to hear how it feels for you :)

What if the whole world got curious instead of afraid? What might happen then?