“I Can Do This” is a very simple, very short phrase yet it is an incredibly powerful self-affirmation, a bedrock reinforcement of self-worth and self-determination. It is easy to believe that life’s pivotal moments will be big and dramatic and while that may occasionally happen, the truth for most of us is that our lives are shaped mainly by the small daily decisions and actions that we repeat until they become unnoticed habits.
Our self-talk and the often-unconscious belief systems that underlie our internal dialogue are unnoticed habits that are powerful forces forging our future.
Early one Sunday afternoon I was emotionally drifting, not feeling particularly motivated or inspired. Yet I’d blown off Saturday, 100% chill out, not a bit of work done (unless you want to count reading the WSJ and NYT), a rarity for me. All well fine and good, but I’d made commitments to myself (and by implication to others) that certain things would be done by dawn of Monday.
As I attempted to rally the scraps and dregs of energy I needed to move forward, out of the blue, without consciously summoning the thought, I heard myself say to myself “I can do this.” In that moment I realized how often I used that phrase in moments like this. “I Can Do it” was my “go to” self-affirmation when my energy flagged or my self-confidence waivered or challenges were mounting faster than they were being surmounted.
Few if any of those moments were individually anywhere near life changing BUT the cumulative total certainly was.
Closing Quotes:
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Leo Collier, 1885-1950
“The most important thing is to believe in yourself and know that you can do it.” – Gabby Douglas
“If you don’t think you can do it, who will? You control the most important tool in success, your mind.” – Jeffrey Gitomer
As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier