Don't Even Think About It

Whether you think you can

or whether you think you can't

You are right

                                             --- Henry Ford

It's funny, isn't it, how our minds work. We believe without question everything our brain tells us.  If it says it, it must be true. "Oh, you can't do that," my brain says, "so don't even try."  I see other people doing things that I wish I could do, but I would never attempt it because the command center, that gray mass between my ears, has said, "Don't even think about it!"

"DON'T! EVEN! THINK! ABOUT! IT!" There you go. The all-powerful, all-knowing boss of me has spoken. No alternative thinking allowed. Don't question whether I can or I can't. Just abide by the edict I've been given. I can't do it.

"But, wait a minute," I say. "Whose brain are you?  Shouldn't I--the person you call home; the person who takes you everywhere with me; the person who nourishes you and wears a helmet to protect you when I ride my bicycle--Shouldn't I be the one to decide if I can or can't do something?"

"NO! DON'T THINK YOU CAN BECAUSE I'M TELLING YOU YOU CAN'T! GO SIT BACK DOWN ON THE COUCH AND PRETEND YOU'RE A POTATO!"

"But what if I don't want to do that? What if I want to believe--contrary to what you are always telling me--that I am capable of doing it?

"THERE YOU GO, BELIEVING IN YOURSELF AGAIN! STOP IT!"

"I'm thinking I can do it."

"NO YOU CANNOT DO IT!"

"I think I can. I think I can."

'NO YOU CAN'T."

"Watch me."

"Don't even think... ."

"Done. Did it."

"Okay then. Never mind."