“I think I can.” This is probably the most recognizable positive thinking phrase today. Most of us know the story of “the little engine that could”. Most of us have heard as children about how the little engine was able to climb the big hill just by thinking that it could.
Today, in our adulthood, we encounter our own hills. Your hill could be a job application. It could be the presentation you’re going to have to give your boss tomorrow. You could consider your next exams to be your hill. Whatever your hill is, if you think you can’t climb it, you won’t be able to.
Students love to label some classes as “impassable”. This label gives them the excuse not to study anymore. However, that’s all they give themselves. Convincing yourself that you can’t do something is akin to not being able to do it. By looking at your hill in life and thinking about how impossible the climb is, you will be limiting yourself.
Positive thinking phrases can help you overcome your hills in life. First of all, the act of saying a positive thinking phrase to yourself may distract you from the daunting task at hand and enable you to just react. By saying “I think I can” to yourself and just taking step after step to overcome your hill, you will take your mind off the impossibility of the task and just do it.
Some may call this self-hypnotism and they may be correct. By forgetting about the impossibility of the task and focusing on your inner battle of will, you might wake up to find that you have already finished the task at hand.
Positive thinking phrases also help you by strengthening your belief. If you say a positive phrase enough times, you might be able to stir up your belief and really achieve your goal. You will be emboldened by the words. People sometimes take the power of words for granted. However, when you think about it, words have a very big impact in our lives. Words help us shape our wills and allow us to reach our target.
By repeating a positive thinking phrase, we trigger a response within ourselves that help us forget everything but the strength of our wills. They can help us believe and, as people will tell you, belief is a very powerful thing. In fact, belief is the core of the effect of the positive thinking phrase.
People make use of positive phrases not because of the auditory value. If people did that, then they would just record a phrase and have it played over and over again. People make use of them to help them believe. The act of saying a phrase helps them believe that the words holds a grain of truth deep inside them.
Thinking positive helps people by letting them own the words and allowing them to dictate what they can and can’t do. They empower people and let them take control of what to believe.
In order for a positive thinking phrase to work, you need to believe it when you say it. You say it not for others to hear it, but for you to believe.