Tuesday, January 30, 2001

Tell yourself you can

When you tell yourself you can’t do something, you’ll generally believe it and live by it. For example, suppose you constantly told yourself “I can’t get any work done around here because the walls are too bright.” That may sound silly, yet when it’s repeated often enough you’ll become absolutely convinced that the walls are preventing you from getting your work done. The sad fact is that when you tell yourself you can’t, you won’t, no matter how flimsy the excuse may be.

Fortunately, the same dynamic also can work in a positive way. Because when you tell yourself often enough that you can, you will. Think of all the things you’ve avoided doing because you told yourself you couldn’t do them. Now just imagine what would happen if you applied that same power of suggestion toward being productive and effective, toward getting things done.

A critical, fundamental initial step toward any achievement is to tell yourself you can do it. It’s simple. “I can do this.” It’s positive. “I can do this.” And it works. Put the power of your own belief to work for you. Tell yourself you can.

— Ralph Marston

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Copyright ©2001 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.