Inquiry · “You Are Not Your Thoughts”
The Possibility Thinking Game
Test and energize a dream with a fixed set of questions, then commit to start it rather than wait for certainty.
Does it solve real human problems (not ego)?
- Is it pacesetting / distinctive?
- Is it genuinely exciting?
- Does it demand my best?
- Decide on merit; don’t let “how?” veto “should.”
- Begin by beginning — one real step now.
What it is
Where bare possibility thinking refuses “impossible,” the Possibility Thinking Game is Schuller’s structured inquiry for deciding whether and how to pursue a specific dream. You take a goal and run it through a fixed set of questions designed both to test it (is it worth doing?) and to energize it (does it move you and others?).
Crucially, it ends not in more analysis but in a decision Schuller called “ begin by beginning“ — take the first concrete step before you can see the whole path. This is inquiry in the service of action: the questions surface whether the dream solves real human problems, whether it is pacesetting, and whether it genuinely excites — and then force commitment.
The Method
Take one specific goal and ask Schuller’s questions of it honestly:
- Is it practical — does it solve human problems? Schuller’s first and central test: “Does this goal, this dream, solve human problems?” A goal earns pursuit by serving people, not by serving ego. (“Goals must never be from your ego, but problems that cry for a solution.”)
- Is it pacesetting? Is anyone else already doing this well? An original, first-of-its-kind dream attracts attention and support; if many already do it, expect hard competition. Distinctiveness is an asset.
- Is it exciting? “Can this goal be exciting, really exciting, to people?” A dream that genuinely excites you and your community gathers the energy and backing it needs.
- Will it demand and deserve my best / will it glorify more than me? Test that the goal is big enough to call out your full effort and is not merely self-serving.
- Keep decision separate from problem-solving. Decide whether it should be done on the merits above; do not let “I can’t yet see how to fund/staff/build it” veto the decision. “Never bring the problem-solving stage into the decision-making stage.”
- Begin by beginning. Once decided, take the first real step immediately — list prospects, make the call, draft the plan — rather than waiting for certainty. “Success starts when you start to set goals.” Then iterate. (Sourcing note: the human-problem / pacesetting / excitement tests and “begin by beginning” are Schuller’s, from Move Ahead with Possibility Thinking (1967) and related goal-setting writing; short fair-use quotation. Schuller framed several question-lists over the years; this captures his recurring core, not a single fixed catechism.)
Source & Lineage
Move Ahead with Possibility Thinking (1967) and Schuller’s goal-setting material for churches and individuals. The method extends his mentor Norman Vincent Peale from attitude into a decision procedure.
Common refinements
Using the questions to cheerlead, not test. If every dream “passes,” you’re not really asking. Let the human-problem and best-effort tests genuinely fail some goals.
- Skipping the cost/risk question. Schuller’s set leans toward excitement; add an explicit “what does this cost, and can I bear failure?” so “begin by beginning” isn’t reckless.
- Beginning without a believable first step. “Begin by beginning” works when the first step is small and real; vague “I’ll start somehow” doesn’t count.
- Treating it as one-and-done. Re-run the questions as the dream evolves; a goal that stops solving a real human problem should be revised or dropped.