Motivational Therapy: The Imp in Impossibility

Who or what is that 'imp'? To be motivated by possibility or to be non-motivated by impossibility are thoughts that can linger in your mind, at one time or another. 

Did you ever wonder if it is the imp in impossibility that makes the difference between being motivated and not being motivated? Figuratively speaking, imp is akin to personifying whatever it is that keeps you from being motivated, when you could or should be.

Motivation entails positive thinking. In other words, when you allow negative thought processes to enter into motivational thought patterns, they change from motivational to non-motivational thoughts.

Imp personified, implies a mischievous character of some sort at work

Thinkexist.com uses the following definition in the personification of the word imp suggesting “a young or inferior devil; a little, malignant spirit; a puny demon; a contemptible evil worker.”

Taking this further and putting the letter p back into possible, what remains are the two letters i and m.

Look at it this way. I...m...possible removes the impossibility from the word possible and brings the word possible home to the first person I and reinforces personal motivation.

Interestingly, in different contexts, the word imp is not in a negative context, at all. Here, the word imp does not have personification either. 

Thinkexist.com suggests imp implies “something added to, or united with another, to lengthen it out or repair it, - as, an addition to a beehive; a feather inserted in a broken wing of a bird; a length of twisted hair in a fishing line.” 

Perhaps you might chuckle when you see the imp in impossibility, realizing that unless you personify the word imp, it could still have a motivational meaning. In other words, you do not necessarily have the word imp as a negative aspect of your thinking process.

Word play is fun and contextually, words can have different meanings. How you tend to interpret them or use them would appear to have an individual perceptual factor. The meaning of words can change over time.

You act on your perceptions, as does everyone else and they vary from person to person.

In another definition of imp there is a personification without the mischievous, negative implications. Note the transition of definition in thinkexist.com to “an offspring; progeny; child; scion”.

Dictionary.com suggests that scion is “a young shoot or twig of a plant, esp. one cut for grafting or rooting, or a descendant of a notable family.”

How you interpret words becomes a matter of choice.

Even with the word scion there is what appears to be a severing of relationship in one context, but a totally viable, as well as positive, familial relationship in the other context.

In other words, you choose whether to become motivated with possibility, or not to be motivated with impossibility, depending upon how you interpret or understand the word imp.  

Have you ever considered the fact that the imp in impossibility might be you?