“That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.” – Abraham Lincoln
We all know how easy it is to make excuses…too easy, really! Let’s be honest. Have you ever felt discouraged after seeing a friend or colleague succeed in something in which you too would also like to succeed? Perhaps there’s some jealousy there, dictating our thoughts and feelings. We “want” to be happy for them, but we can’t help our egocentric tendencies to relate this to ourselves, and in this case, our lack of success vs. theirs.
Maybe you’ve been on the flip side of this scenario. You are the one who has succeeded. You just completed your 1st marathon. A few days later, you meet with some friends for dinner. The topic of your recent accomplishment enters the conversation and Betty Sue says “Well, she (pointing at you) is a born runner. It’s no wonder…”. WAIT A SECOND…Betty Sue couldn’t be further from the truth! YOU KNOW how dang hard you WORKED to accomplish this feat–getting up earlier, adjusting your diet, the kids’s schedule…not to mention your own social schedule that suffered.
In either case, the “successful” person was not viewed as an opportunity. The “successful” person wasn’t seen as attainable. Honest Abe, our 16th president, really did speak the truth: “That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.”
Sure, we can’t dictate our genetics, but we CAN avoid excusing and rationalizing our non-action due to our genetic makeup, life circumstances, etc. For 99.9% of us, we can do it.
Leah, featured in a Fit After Fifty story, shares her mentality during her table tennis matches, including in practice. “If my opponent scores five points in a row, I stop to think, if she can do it, I can do it too… It’s amazing how that self-talk really works, if you really believe it.”
Do you have the I can do it too mentality?
