“When you’ve exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven’t.”

-Thomas Edison

Do you ever find yourself feeling stuck between a rock and a hard place? Maybe you’re faced with having to make a decision, but all you can see are two unappealing options that make you want to avoid (or dread) the decision-making process all together?

Maybe you’ve decided that you’re hell bent on getting an answer, so you appeal to the mind’s rational approach and make the classic pros and cons list, yet, somehow you still come up short with a resolution that feels good.

Maybe, if you’re like me, you’ve even taken to Google for what decision you should make!

I don’t know about you, but typically, whenever I’m in this either/or spot and pushing to “figure out” the best option, it’s a pretty safe bet that I’ve landed in Reactive Brain.*

Why? Because Reactive Brain is narrow-focused, black and white, survival-based thinking. Because it’s job is to help us survive – not bask in creativity and wonder – it sees limited options, if any, and it often sees them through a lens of shoulds and lack and desperation.

Reactive Brain doesn’t have the luxury of wandering around in possibility and looking for alternative options that actually feel good, because its focus is to mobilize all of its resources toward keeping us alive – even when we aren’t necessarily facing a life-or-death decision. RB is skilled at convincing us that there really is no good answer here, because it genuinely believes there’s no way to get everything I want!

And, I wouldn’t disagree. RB is competitive, exists within a win/lose mindset, and from a very young age, was conditioned by messaging like:

You can’t always get what you want.

Compromise is the key to making relationships work.

Struggle is necessary.

Life is hard.

RB doesn’t know that there are other options available outside its limited viewpoint or that it’s possible for everyone to get everything they want, because RB only knows what it knows and believes it’s always right. Which, I might add, is a certainty I really want to have handy when I need to get out of the way of the moving bus or run from danger. As always, thank you RB for all the times you’ve made a snap decision that kept me alive.

And, as far as all of the other non life-or-death decisions, I think I’m going to partner with Creative Brain.*

Why? Because when I’m contemplating decisions from Creative Brain, all of a sudden, the world – and my once seemingly dismal options – begin to look a whole heck of a lot different.

In Creative Brain, I have access to a different type of thinking. I feel more expansive, energized, positive, and creative. In CB, I feel more loving and connected with my fellow humans (and myself) and not only do I believe it’s possible for everyone to get what they want, I actually want everyone to get everything they want.

From up in CB, I can freely access new ideas, things I’d never dreamed of from down in RB. What once felt impossible now not only feels totally doable, but I am able to access my inner wisdom and collaborate with others to set the idea in motion.

In my experience, from CB, a third option always seems to appear (often in the most delightful of ways), an option that from down in RB just wasn’t able to bubble up through all that density and contraction to make itself known to me.

How does this happen? How can shifting my state open me up to a world of endless possibility that once looked so bleak and without a good option?

When we’re in a calm, relaxed, flow state, no longer blocked by the stagnant, negative energies of RB, our brains are open-focused (Lester Fehmi wrote a great book on this called The Open-Focus Brain). As a result, we have access to creativity, inspiration, connection, and our own inner knowing.

In CB, we are connected to our essence, our soul, our highest self – the part of us that knows the possibilities are endless and that all is always well.

If you’re feeling trapped by making a decision with limited options that just aren’t all that appealing, take a minute to tune in and notice: are you in RB or CB? If you’re in RB, the only decision to make from here is to decide if you want to shift.

As you begin to move your energy and clear out the density that was keeping you lodged in RB, stay present to your body and simply notice what you’re experiencing. How have your thoughts shifted? Do you feel relieved of the urgency to make a decision? Are you feeling more connected to yourself and others?

From here, begin to wonder:

Hmmmmmm, I wonder what wants to happen here? What does my soul want me to see that I haven’t yet seen? Is there a third option I just haven’t discovered yet?

The key here is to keep yourself Above The Line* with wondering, expansion, and possibility. If the mind comes in to “solve” or “fix” or demand an answer, simply notice that it’s doing what it does best, blow it a kiss, then move your body and return to CB.

From this place, if you haven’t experienced any new insights or downloads, consider writing down your question, saying it out loud, setting the intention to receive clarity, and then let it go and do something fun! Celebrate your body for helping you to shift and enjoy soaking in the good vibes of being in flow.

Today, trust that it is possible to shift out of the decision making grind of the mind and that accessing Creative Brain is the key to discovering endless possibilities.

Happy Friday, friends!

Cheers to Creative Brain, play, and discovering the third way.

*Reactive Brain, Creative Brain, and Above The Line are terms and concepts coined by Julie Colwell.