The Little Engine that Could, one of my all-time favorite children’s books, pops up in my memory banks during times of doubt. As he puffs away to bring Christmas presents to the boys and girls on the other side of the mountain, he hums a steady chorus of words, “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.” While stronger more able ones could have taken the broken-down train over the mountain, for various reasons, they didn’t. No, the little blue engine defeats the odds and delivers the gifts for the children before the morning light peaks through the sky.
There are days when I have forgotten to think “I can.”
I’m not sure when and where it creeps into our minds. Maybe somewhere around 12 or 13, those awkward middle-school years of braces and acne. Maybe somewhere between our junior year of high school and those infamous college applications. Maybe in our early twenties when those job interviews turn out to be a waste of time and our bank account holds $20.00. Maybe somewhere after failures have joined us a bit more than successes.
Yes, somewhere, we decide life isn’t going to be the way we planned. We drop our dreams in the nearest waste basket and settle for what is left.
The insecurities, the negative voices, and the fears take up residency in places they do not belong.
The word “what” by itself is simply a question; “if” by itself is simply a possibility; but together, “what if” can bring enlightenment. What if I decided to go back to school? What if I applied for that job? What if I started my own business? What if I asked her to marry me?
And if we answered our own questions like the little engine that could, maybe we could pull some of those dreams out and recycle them. It’s not about our age or where we find ourselves in life; what it’s really about is our minds.
My grandmother loved the phrase, “You are what you eat.” She insisted on fresh fruits and veggies for what we put into our mouths directly impacts how we feel. While her statement may be true, I think it’s far more significant to say, “You are what you believe.” What we tell ourselves we are; what entertains our thoughts; what occupies our brains, we become.
Its time to start believing in “you” again. It’s time to start peeling off the layers others have labeled you to be and start reclaiming the desires you once had before doubt and vulnerability crept in. Its time for you to shout within yourself, “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.”
It’s time to become “the little YOU that could.”
