Unlimited Thinking

Almost Forgotten • 20x20 • Oil/Mixed Media

Almost Forgotten • 20x20 • Oil/Mixed Media

So, I got thinking today…about limited thinking.  What do I mean by that?  Henry Ford said it best: “Whether you believe you can or you can’t, you’re right”

When I was in art school I realized something about myself ~ I didn’t like being told I couldn’t do something.  One of my instructors insisted that everyone show him what they intended to do for each assignment.  More than once I was told, “You can’t do that. It’ll be too hard.”  And yet, (nearly) each time, I proved him wrong, because I already had it in my head that I could do it.  He finally stopped saying I couldn’t or shouldn’t do something and started saying “Cant wait to see what you do with this” instead.

What if I had let him tell me I couldn’t do something?  What if I had dejectedly dropped my ideas and chose something easier?  Would I have grown as much?  Would I have made discoveries ~ both in what I was and wasn’t capable of on my own?  Probably not.  I shudder to think how many budding art careers he stunted with this approach.

Where in your life do you tell yourself you can’t do something, you’re not good at something or something is too difficult?  Any of these sound familiar?

I am no good at marketing.
I can’t paint.
I can’t draw.
I can’t write.
I can’t draw faces.
I can’t do lettering.
I’m no good at blogging.
I suck at networking.
I can’t speak in public.
I don’t even know where to begin to start an Etsy shop, it looks so complicated.
I cant keep track of money, time, work, deadlines, etc. (pick one or two…)
I’m terrible at organizing.
I can’t find the time to _________

I have been guilty of some of this myself at one time or another.  Still am, if I am being truthful (and I am    It is inescapable.  No matter how confident or capable you are, there is a chink somewhere in your armor.  Makes you human, you know?  And that’s OK.  But what if you WANT to be good at marketing?  Or drawing faces?  Or balancing your checkbook?  How do you get there?

Stop. Thinking. You. Can’t. and start thinking “How can I ________?”  Then do it.  Take a step towards doing it.  It really is that simple.  There is no magic solution ~ Once you stop the limited thinking and replace it with positive thinking (unlimited thinking??), all sorts of things become possible.

Further,  I am a big fan of Imperfect Action.  Just get started doing something gives you something to shoot at, to improve, to tweak, to learn from.  So Just. Do. Something.  Getting started is often the hardest part.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I need to think positively about how I can be a better blogger…  What CAN you do?