THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024, WHO ARE YOU

 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2023 - WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

Henry Ford said, “If you think you can or you think you can’t - you are correct”.

Others have said “You are what you eat”, but you also are “what you think”.

Motivation experts say you have to believe in yourself.

Two stories

(Fiction).  A heart specialist was working late at his office when a crazy-looking man entered.  

The man was shouting, “Doc, you’ve got to help me; you’ve got to help me”.

The doctor looked at him and asked what the problem was.

The man answered, “I think I’m a moth.”

The doctor was surprised.  “I’m a heart specialist.  Why did you come to me?”

The man answered, “Well, your light was on.”

(Moths are attracted to lights)

***

Real. (But an older story - just men in the army)

A man in the army was just an ordinary man.  Nothing special.  He did what was assigned to him.  He wasn’t an officer, just an army man.

One of the requirements at that time was to have the men take IQ (Intelligence Quotient).  The man took the test and got one of the highest scores ever.  He was a genius!!

His life was changed.  Before that, he thought he was “just” an ordinary man, not a big deal; but now he was a genius.  He started to think like a genius, act like a genius, learn like a genius, and BE a genius.

What happened was that the man’s brain thought he WAS a genius.

***

Last week I commented on the Beatle's Song “I’m a Loser”.  I commented that I don’t sing that - I’m NOT a loser.  I’m a talented person.

It seems like every morning when I look in my bathroom mirror (after I’ve put on a little make-up), I see myself in the mirror and say (out loud), “I’m a good-looking woman.” For those that knew me before, you might marvel at that.  Something happened in my brain - like the man who thought he was a moth or the man who thought he was ordinary.  

I have Romans 12:2 written on my door, so I see it when I leave my apartment.  That verse is: “ Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by renewing your mind.”  

*****

While this is new to me, the concept of believing in yourself is deep within me.  When I taught, I would tell myself, “I’m a good teacher, I love teaching, I love my students, I love my classes. “

*****

There is a story from the 1950s of a play where two famous actresses were both starring. They had been enemies for a long time as one “stole” the other one's husband.  The one said, “I hated being on stage with her.  Every time I laid my eyes on her, the hurt and anger grew me.  Then I started to remember all the awards she had gotten.  She won an Oscar for one of her movies and a Tony Award for her work on Broadway.  The one stopped hating her and focused on her work with one of the well-known stars of the entertainment world. “Wow, I get to work with a legend”. (And, even though she was a legend too, her anger disappeared.)

*****

Who do you think you are?  Can you “confess” that - I am talented, I am healthy, I am a good mother (or father), I am loving and kind, (etc.)

There is another expression - “Fake it until you make it.” 

Me as a college dean at thirty-seven years old?  HA.  (But I did grow into the role.)

*****

I’m not “old”; I am “experienced”.  How can I use my God-given talents today?  

(And I do smile and love looking at myself in the mirror.  I am a nice-looking senior woman!!!)

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

Karen Anne White, ©, February 8, 2024