In Summer 2026, Dame Harriet Walter kindly signed a copy of her book “She Speaks”.
In it, she wrote the words “Embrace your possibilities” as her dedication. Embrace your possibilities is a great ethos for life.
Dame Harriet Walter’s possibilities
Dame Harriet Walter turned down the option to attend university to become an actress. But she was then turned down by five drama schools. Fortunately, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) eventually accepted her. Afterwards, she went on to join the Royal Shakespeare Company and the rest is history.
Dame Harriet credits, having a clear idea of what she wanted to do, holding her nerve as the rejections came; and being motivated by bringing feminism into her roles, as being key reasons for her success. She has certainly embraced her possibilities.
Our Possibilities
We all face different opportunities and challenges. Everyone lives a different life after all. So, we won’t all have the same possibilities ahead of us. We will each have our own. So, whilst we can’t all achieve the same things, we can embrace our own possibilities. That is, if we let ourselves embrace them.
Looking out for possibilities
It’s up to us to be more inquisitive about what’s out there for us. Looking out for opportunities will bring more of them into focus. We need to be braver about embracing things which are outside our comfort zone. When the time comes, we need to be more committed and really go for it.
What we do and how we think, make an enormous difference to our success. Turning opportunities down, putting them off, or quitting them part-way through, will all reduce our chances of being successful in life. Some openings won’t come around again. We need to take our chances.
Sir. Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson won 38 trophies as Manchester United Manager, having been a player with St. Johnstone as a teenager. He famously nearly quit football to emigrate to Canada, when his pathway to the first-team was blocked ahead of him.
Fortunately, before he could leave, an injury crisis hit the team and Sir. Alex finally got his chance. He scored a hat-trick on his debut and never looked back. That injury crisis kept him football, allowing him to become the Premier League’s most successful manager.
Sir. Alex is quoted as saying “Don’t miss the biggest opportunity in your life. It’s recognising it (that matters most).”
Three steps to possibility
Firstly, having a can-do mental attitude, using the power of positive self-talk, actively looking for opportunities; and manifesting positive outcomes will all help us achieve our goals.
Secondly, we need to avoid certain limiting behaviours. They include negative self-talk, fearing the worst; and losing our nerve. We have to stop getting in our own way.
Thirdly, we need to ask for help whenever we need it. Being too proud to seek help, limits our potential. It reduces our chances of happiness.
Embrace those possibilities
Keep looking and when you find your possibilities, why not embrace them?