Whether You Think You Can or Whether You Think You Can’t, You Are Right

Coconut Telegraph

We are all facing challenges related to COVID-19. This pandemic impacts every aspect of our lives. Over the last week, the Brain Health Institute has received numerous communications demonstrating that we are all growing tired of our safer-at-home experience.

Are you concerned about your ability to rise up to the multiple challenges of COVID-19 that you may be experiencing and to persevere? If you are experiencing these thoughts and feelings, you are not alone. According to recent studies, a person's willingness to push through hard times and overcome obstacles, persistence, appears to come from a small network of neurons near the center of the brain, according to recent studies.

Puff, puff, chug, chug, went the Little Blue Engine.
"I think I can– I think I can– I think I can...." – W. Piper

Multiple studies demonstrate that approaching life challenges, like the famous little train engine from the classic children's book, the Little Engine That Could —"I think I can, I think I can! — is a brain healthy mindset. Alternatively, experiencing feelings of doubt about your own abilities to rise up and overcome the difficulties that life has thrown your way, is not a productive or brain healthy way of feeling and thinking. Self-efficacy, or your belief in your own abilities to deal with various situations, can play a role not only in how you feel about yourself, but whether or not you successfully achieve your goals in life.

According to well-known psychologist Albert Bandura, self-efficacy is a person’s belief in their ability to succeed in a particular situation. Bandura described these beliefs as determinants of how people feel, think, and behave. As Bandura and other researchers have demonstrated, self-efficacy can have an impact on everything from brain and physical health and overall well-being, to our daily performance in relationships, learning, work, and play.

I think I can, might just become a byline for our daily living. The strength of you as an individual, and collectively as a family and community, is paramount in helping us be both motivated and positive like the little engine that could… and did.

It would be wise for us all to become little blue engines, huffing and puffing our way to success through this time where we have limited control. Convincing ourselves to overcome self-doubt and use perseverance to master the challenges in front of us will enhance our brain health, the quality of our lives, and can transform our sense of self. We know that certain skills are needed to master difficult situations and the little blue engine epitomizes this process. It helps to silence self-doubt and to quiet that harsh judgmental voice inside.

What you can do today to protect your brain health.

Read the classic children's story, The Little Engine That Could. Look at the 1954 version of this classic as a parable to our current individual and global situation. It is a story that tells us of motivation in the face of hardship. All of us have our current challenges and strengths we can bring to the situation. Maximizing your strengths and working diligently to protect your and your family’s brain health and well-being during this time is essential.

Watch the movie Finding Nemo (2003), Finding Dory (2016) or Free Willy (1993)

Listen to BHI's weekly playlist songs of perserverence.

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