Experiences of the possible transform the self . The fact that humans can pretend things are not what they are, reimagine the past, envision multiple futures and conceive the impossible, are all transformative experiences.

the ‘locus’ of possibility is the relational space of action and interaction between person and world. Imagining possibilities, creating opportunities to enact them, and changing our understanding of what is possible are all interactional achievements.

While many of the foregoing assertions seem to suggest that human explorations of the possible lead to a variety of positive outcomes, from personal to societal, we cannot underestimate the darker sides of this engagement. For example, the discourse of possibility can become a burden when normatively imposed

The construction of norms, values, and ideologies around who, in society, is expected or has the right to discover new possibilities and, conversely, who is denied such opportunities is a political act. In fact, power relations within and between groups are a key determinant in the dynamic of the possible and the imposition of impossibility.

discourses about human possibility should not be Eurocentric or Western centric but actively invite experiences and ideas that grow out of decolonisation as a position from which we can actively reimagine self, other, and world.

Becoming aware of what is possible and comparatively assessing various possibilities goes beyond cognitive – or, for that matter, neurological – processes. The possible is not merely a mental representation or way of processing information; it involves the entire being and it especially has a strong motivational and emotional dynamic.

It is not accidental, in this context, that the inability to reimagine one’s life is a primary indicator of traumatic experiences, and its reversal represents a key sign of recovering and, in some cases, of entering a new phase of post-traumatic growth.

There is an audacity in focusing on the possible in an age of major personal and societal impossibilities.

As beings dwelling within a world that is at once actual and possible, the human condition involves a radical open-endedness and orientation towards the future that change how we are and how we understand ourselves.