I Think. Therefore, I Can
One day, I was in gym class as a kindergartner. The gym teacher was having us run from one end of the gym to the other. I am not sure why he was having us do this, but there we were running from one end of the gym to the other end of the gym whenever he blew his whistle. Before one sprint, my best friend turned to me and said, “You’re gonna get last.” Sure enough, as soon as the whistle blew, I found myself running behind the other kids and reached the other end of the gym last.
Later that day, I was at home and told that story to my family. My older brother was quick to point out that I only finished last because I believed what my friend had said. At the time, I did not recognize the wisdom in what my brother was saying. However, in hindsight, I see he spoke a profound truth that day. He attempted to teach me the power of positive thinking.
Someone (perhaps Henry Ford, but probably not) once said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” When my friend told me I was going to get last, I didn’t say, “You’re wrong.” I was taken aback and didn’t know what to say. In short, I didn’t believe in myself at that moment; I believed my friend. Granted, I am no speedster. I am not going to win any running races, but I definitely wasn’t the slowest one in my class. We ran multiple sprints in that class session, and I was only last one time. It was only when I let someone else dictate my perception of how fast I was that I got last.
There are a lot of things I can do, but I can’t do them if I don’t believe in myself. The same goes for you, dear reader. You can only do what you believe you can. If you are dreaming about achieving something great, you have to believe you can do it. How does one go about changing one’s mindset? Here are a few tips:
Confront Yourself with the Evidence
If you have a new task you are not sure you can do, show yourself the evidence! If it is something you have never done before, you can easily tell yourself that you have no evidence you cannot do it. When I tell people I do improv, I often get the response, “Oh, I could never do that!” I like telling people they are wrong when they say that. I don’t say it that bluntly. I will usually say something more diplomatic like, “I bet you’d be better at it than you’d think.” My reasoning, I explain, is that, when everyone wakes up in the morning, no one is there handing out the day’s script. You have to make it up as you go along. You improvise all day every day. It is only fears and anxieties that prevent people from being able to improvise on stage. So, when you are faced with a new task, confront yourself with the evidence. Tell yourself it is entirely possible you can do it.
Tell Yourself That You Are Often Wrong
If you are like me, your predictions rarely come true. I often think to myself during the beginning stages of a relationship that I will be rejected. I have no evidence that the girl will ghost me or say to me, “Actually, could you stop talking to me?” Yet, that is the belief I find myself adopting. Is it healthy? Absolutely not. In fact, I can point to numerous times that I have been wrong. The most obvious one that comes to mind is the NFC Championship game on January 21, 2018. On the first drive of the game, my beloved Minnesota Vikings drove the ball down the field and scored a touchdown. I celebrated with my friends and thought, “Super Bowl, here we come!” The Philadelphia Eagles then scored 38 unanswered points on their way to a victory. I was crushed and was definitely wrong. Yet, I think I can predict the future in other scenarios. As Colonel Potter used to say on M*A*S*H, “HORSE HOCKEY!” I cannot predict the future, so what I should really be telling myself is that I cannot predict the future. If you are a human being like me, you probably cannot predict the future either. Therefore, instead of dismissing the possibility that you might succeed, embrace it.
Catch and Redirect Negative Thoughts
Thinking positively does not happen overnight. It can be a struggle to switch mindsets. It is easy to slip into negative thinking. If you are like me, you probably do it a lot. However, it is possible to fight back. If you practice catching yourself thinking pessimistically, say to yourself, “Whoops, I’m not going there. Instead, I am going to say…” At first, that might not seem likely to work. However, it gets easier over time. The more you practice catching yourself and redirecting your thoughts, the easier it will become. So, give it a shot. What is the worst that can happen?