It's not always pretty

All my friends know that l am not a numbers person, mention math, and I’m out for the count. I have been like this ever since l can remember. I always preferred writing a long composition of ‘The day l will never forget’ to finding the value of ‘x’. I remember years ago saying to my housemate, “l am going to be rich to the point where l won’t have to calculate the money needed for bills, rent, and everything else.”

I hate numbers to the point that l can easily be scammed of my change in a supermarket. This is because I would not know how much change they are supposed to give me as l do not possess the required brain energy to calculate if they have given me the right amount. You know when a computer or your phone freezes, well that’s what happens to my mind when l try to calculate 100 minus 37. (Funny side note - when l typed this, my mind immediately calculated the answer to be 23…Crazy right?) This has worked perfectly for me for all the 20-something years l have lived so far, until recently. I noticed that there are certain behaviours and characteristics that l had developed over the past years because of having the wrong mindset. I had told myself that l was not good with numbers, and as a result, numbers were never my strong suit. The same goes for the different things which I realized l had convinced myself I was not able to do. I created a world of things that l chose to not be able to do and rather pay somebody else. Why? Because it was too difficult and impossible for me to do. I created a bubble of ‘I won’t do this stuff.’

I recently started reflecting on the things I might have missed because of this. I foresaw all the things l was going to miss out on if l did not change. I am not someone who gives up easily, well at least not before trying thrice, but when l do, it’s difficult for me to go back to it no matter how much that thing might have been beneficial to me.

Thomas Edison is mostly known for his light bulb invention. Do you know how many times it took for him to finally make the bulb light up and work perfectly? A 1000 times! Imagine if Thomas Edison gave up after making the 999th bulb, he would have never known that he was just 2 light bulbs away from his success. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”

Thomas Alva Edison tried “two thousand” different materials in search of a filament for the light bulb. When none worked satisfactorily, his assistant complained, “All our work is in vain. We have learned nothing.” Edison replied very confidently, “Oh, we have come a long way and we have learned a lot. We now know that there are two thousand elements which we cannot use to make a good light bulb.”

It is not always going to be easy, but the persistence and patience that you have can change the whole process. Imagine if JK Rowling gave up after 12 publishers refused her manuscript, we wouldn’t have had Harry Potter. Imagine if the iconic Mr. Bean had given up after being denied screen time by many movie directors, we wouldn’t have grown up with Johnny English movies.

The truth is, there are a lot of people that are already telling you, “You can’t do that”. Do not add yourself to that number of discouragers. What we need is to positively self-talk ourselves into the greatest achievements. Muhammad Ali’s daily personal affirmation was, ‘l am the greatest.’ One of his famous quotes is, “It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.”

I recently learned from someone about writing yourself an ‘achievement letter.’ You address this letter to yourself from yourself and write down everything that you have accomplished and are proud of. Then, whenever you are in a situation and you feel like giving up, you read that letter. To be fair, it sounds insane but it works. Sometimes we just need a little push to accomplish certain goals. Who better give you that push than yourself?

We all have areas where we tell ourselves we “can’t.” But as Edison, Rowling, and countless others have shown us, persistence and a shift in mindset can make a great difference. So, what story are you telling yourself today? Is it one of limitation, or possibility?