The Power of the Mind

“I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.” This probably conjures up an image for you of a little blue train engine chugging up a hill until he finally makes it to his destination. We all remember the point of the story is that if you think you can do it, then you can. The little engine struggled and worked but finally achieved his goal.

We all need to be more like that little engine. And not just in thinking about achieving goals. The brain is a very powerful thing. What we think affects how we feel. And how we feel affects what we do. And what we do determines results in our lives. So if we think we can, we feel motivated and work to do it, and we end up accomplishing the task. But what are other ways that thinking affects our results? If we are presented with a new task, cooking gourmet meals for instance, do we think “Oh, I can’t cook. I’m a terrible cook!” or “What a fun new thing to learn. I can do this!” Most of us would probably choose the former. And that suspicion is confirmed as we pull out burned goo that doesn’t look like the Duck a l’Orange photo that came with the recipe. It is as though our brain listens to what we tell it and then responds to make sure that it comes true.

Seligman and Meier did a study in which they placed dogs in a shuttle box with 2 compartments. One side had a regular floor, and the other side was electrically charged so it would produce a shock if the dog walked on it. Some of the dogs were trained beforehand to expect an inescapable electric shock when they heard a tone. The other group of dogs was not trained this way. When put into the shuttle box, the untrained dogs quickly learned that they could jump over the electric compartment and escape shock. The previously trained dogs did not figure this out and laid down, giving up, because they had learned that shock was unavoidable. Often people view their finances in this way. They have certain feelings, beliefs, and fears that they have learned about money since childhood. They end up saying, “I can’t do finances. I’m not good at this. I’ll never get out of debt.” And they won’t. Because they are holding themselves back. You see, there is a way to escape the shock, to jump out of that compartment. It starts by changing the way you talk to yourself. Start by repeating over and over, “I can do this. I’m going to learn how to manage my finances, and I WILL get out of debt.” Starting here is setting yourself on a track for success. Remember that what you think affects what you feel, which affects what you do, which creates your end result.

Tags: brain, results