A man very close to Henry Ford once said, “If you don’t want Henry to do something, you better not tell him he can’t.”
In the movie based on a true story “Men of Honor,” Carl Brashear is asked by his future wife why he wants to be the first African American Navy Diver so badly? Without hesitation, he looks her dead in the eyes with his head raised and jaw-clenched, a look of absolute certainty, and says, “Because they told me I couldn’t have it!”
( If you haven’t seen the movie, go rent it.)
When told we can’t have something many of us react same the way. Something extra inside of us kicks in to prove them wrong and a fire starts burning inside of us until we do. Sometimes that person telling us “You can’t do that,” is exactly what we need. A football coach of mine used this tactic on me if I ever began to slack at practice, because he knew I wouldn’t back down from the challenge. He was a great motivator and even though I would be mad when he challenged me, I’m glad he did because I was better for it.
But sometimes we won’t be challenged or insulted or dared, but we throw fuel on our fire daily, we just mistake it for water. Thinking positively is extremely useful but that’s not what this is about, this isn’t even about avoiding negative thoughts. Instead, this is about using them.
Very often when we’re trying something new or attempting something we’ve failed at before we tell ourselves something along the lines of, “Man, I can’t do this.” Instead of fighting it, use it! Take the approach of Henry Ford, everytime you tell yourself you can’t do something, take it as a personal challenge and then prove yourself wrong. If it’s a big, long-term challenge, write it down in a place you’ll see everyday. The bigger it is the better. If it’s just a shot you’re doubting in the moment, remind yourself it’s just another challenge, and go after it.
Don’t dodge the next challenge that pops into your mind, go after it and crush it!
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this is very true, Nick. Most athletes jsut rely on positive thoughts and believe anything negative will jsut continue killing them. But by using some negative thoughts, an athlete can reach extremes they never thought they had. I recently had used them and pushed myself into a starting role on my team. Great stuff, man.
ReplyDeleteI've got first hand experience in this field; and what a great experience it has been. Being told I couldn't tryout for the team, told I wasn't what they were looking for, not good enough...all the things I didn't want to hear, all the things that made me want it that much more. With persistence and perseverance, I got a try out and accomplished the first big step...what is to follow I'm not sure yet, but what I do know is that everytime I'm told I can't, I will... and I will do it bigger and better than it's been done before.
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