The gap we should all mind is the gap that’s in the mind. We can imagine intricate things, use beautiful words, commit to ambitious goals and have mighty plans to transform the world, but what really matters is who we are at the core and what we actually end up doing. Our behaviors and actions say so much more than the ideals we project and cling to so dearly.

In the material world, in the field of design for example, imagining a potential solution that does not exist, is beneficial. But this ability of our mind to dream up something that does not exist is often misused in other area of our lives. It is especially problematic in the psychological realm and in relationships. There is nothing wrong with our faculty to picture an alternative reality, the problem is that we often get it confused with the actual and the factual.

Planning, goal setting, promising, pretending, plays an important role in shaping our existence, but it is also the source of much friction. Ideation intrinsically creates conflict; A conflict between reality and the imaginary. By constantly wanting to be and do something else from what we do and how we show up in the world, we instill a chronic dissatisfaction. We end up being neither here nor there. The danger is that we may spend so much of our time in the virtual that we stop understanding what is in front of us – the real.

This series of posts are part of Incrementally – a 366 day writing challenge.

Photo by Suad Kamardeen