The “Too Good to Be True” Principle

Something clicked for me in the last few months as I worked on a personal project called Feminist Thriller Club. I was brainstorming authors to interview for our blog and I was imagining getting the chance to interview Jessica Knoll. Suddenly, I thought, “That’s too good to be true.” That would be too amazing. It completely lit me up and excited me to the point where I started to realize I was associating “too good to be true” with “not likely to happen.” Just then, I realized, I could challenge myself that anything that feels too good to be true is exactly what I will go for.

The saying “too good to be true” demands that we question the validity of something that feels good. If an experience sounds fun, well, that’s too good to be true. It’s probably sold out or expensive. Or how about a career that sounds fulfilling. Well, that must mean you can’t make money at it or there are slim chances of it working out. We are indoctrinated to believe that life doesn’t get to be that good. Maybe that’s a realist lens. Or maybe it’s just plain short-sighted.

Your version of “too good to be true” is completely different than someone else’s

Sometimes, I have to remind myself that what feels “too good to be true” for me might mean nothing to someone else. Other people don’t even know who Jessica Knoll is, let alone get excited about possibly interviewing her for a blog. The things that excite me are unique to me. They are my blueprint for my path forward, not anyone else’s. We can all learn to trust that what feels “too good to be true” is our exact roadmap.

What would your life look like if everything that seems “too good to be true” happened to you over the next 10 years?

It’s a fun exercise to imagine everything happening in the best possible way with the most magic, the most fun, the most abundance, the most love, etc. For example, if the next 10 years happen in the best possible way and all my dreams come true, then I’ll continue to be happily married and in love in an epic and big way. I publish my book with an amazing team (literary agent/editors/publishing house/publicist/assistant/film agent) and we reach a fuck ton of readers and sign a film deal. My articles published here reach an even larger amount of subscribers. I get pregnant right away and have extremely easy pregnancies and births. I have so much free time because everything is so easy and natural and fluid. We go on epic trips. We are all perfectly healthy.

Okay, this all sounds too good to be true. But actually…it’s not impossible. It could be true.

And if I want it to be true, isn’t that up to me to at least try or get the ball rolling? Of course, there are a lot of things out of my control, but I can set the stage for success. I can choose to go for it.

If we want life to unfold in a way that is “too good to be true” we have to at least view that as possible, choose it, and go for it. For example, when I was running “Feminist Thriller Club” it wasn’t a ‘too good to be true’ project. It wasn’t ‘the dream.’ It was part of the dream, strategically, as marketing. It merits some of my time, but not all of my time. The element of my career that would feel too good to be true would be publishing my first book.

Figure out what “too good to be true” feels like in your body

For me, it feels exciting. I get so excited that I have to get out of my desk chair and pace around at the thought of it. It feels surreal. Magical. It puts a huge smile on my face. What does it feel like for you?

Whatever feels too good to be true is probably blocked by some limiting belief

For example, I was running Feminist Thriller Club because I thought it would be a great way to boost marketing for future books. That’s a great strategy. But it was distracting me from actually writing and publishing. If I want to be a paid author, then I need to spend the bulk of my time on that. I had a belief that it was too good to be true to make money as an author. But there are plenty of other authors doing it. So why not me?

I realized Feminist Thriller Club did not feel “too good to be true.”

But publishing my first book does.

“Too good to be true” is the map for your path forward

When something feels too good to be true, it’s a unique blueprint for your path forward. It’s your job to listen and figure out how to make it happen. Sometimes with patience and humility. Sometimes with tenacity.