What if we lived our lives with the belief that everything was going to work out better than we could have ever imagined?

A few months ago, I saw a picture that said, “Worrying is the worst way to use your imagination,” and that has had the biggest impact on my outlook on life in a long time.

I’ll admit, I’m a pretty positive person, but when I’m planning for the future, I also tend to focus a lot on the things that could go wrong. Or the realistic version of things. In fact, that’s my biggest problem. I have a really hard time believing that things are going to go so unbelievably right that they end up being better than I could have ever imagined.

My husband and I are building a beautiful foundation for a business that I’m so excited and passionate about. I am really getting into writing and planning out how I want that to look. I’m embracing my love of travel again and planning out adventures for my family.

But in the back of my mind, I keep expecting the other shoe to drop. I keep expecting that something won’t work out because why do I deserve the stars and the moon? Not that I don’t think those things are possible for me. I do. But I just keep feeling like they’re almost too good to be true, I guess?

However, fate decided to step in and send me that quote. Isn’t it funny how serendipity works out like that?

So now, I’m looking at life differently. I’m looking at everything with rose-coloured glasses, consequences be damned. Instead of immediately following every dream with all the reasons it might not work, I’m letting myself actually picture what happens if it does.

I’m picturing a successful business that makes families excited to talk about their finances. I’m imagining writing a book that actually changes someone’s life. And I’m picturing that month-long trip to Indonesia, swimming with turtles with my family and thinking, my gosh, we actually did this.

I’m imagining the best possible outcomes. I’m imagining a big life. I’m imagining joy and happiness beyond what I could ever hope for.

And are things going to go wrong? Absolutely. But you know what? I’m not focusing on that. I’m not focusing on it because I know myself and I know my family. I know that we’ll deal with things that pop up when they do, but until then, my gosh, I’m dreaming.

And what comes from allowing myself to imagine all of that? I start making choices from a place of excitement instead of fear. I’m more willing to take the chance, put myself out there and go after the things I really want. Fortune favours the bold, as they say, and maybe being bold starts with believing something incredible could actually happen.

To be clear, I’m not going into this blindly and just hoping the universe magically hands me the life I want. Dreaming big doesn’t replace the work it takes to get there. It’s going to take hard work, sacrifices, budgeting, planning and probably some really tough decisions along the way. But there’s something different about doing that work when you truly believe in what could be waiting for you on the other side. If all of that work could lead to this big, beautiful life I’ve allowed myself to imagine? My gosh, it’ll be worth it.

So right now, I want you to think about something in your own life that you’ve been dreaming about. Maybe it’s something you’ve talked yourself out of, something that feels a little too big, or something you’re almost afraid to want because you don’t know if it will actually happen. For just a minute, forget about all the reasons it might not work out and let yourself imagine the best-case scenario. The boldest, brightest, most beautiful version of what your life could look like.

Because we spend so much time preparing ourselves for what could go wrong. Maybe it’s time we started getting excited about what could go unbelievably right.

Imagine it. Believe it could happen. Do the work to get there.

And then go after that life.