I have a confession to make. I am a big fan of Douglas Adams’s cult sci-fi comedy The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I was hooked as a teenager in the late 1970’s by the original radio series and remained a fan through its various incarnations over the years which includes books, TV series (oh dear) and a film – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy
So what has this got to do with anything? Well, the other day one of Douglas Adams’s lines came into my head. It is:
“If you’ve done six impossible things this morning, why not round it off with breakfast at Milliway’s, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe?”
Now you may not have managed six impossible things this morning but I’ll bet that you have accomplished many things that at first you thought were impossible.
We often impose constraints and limits on ourselves that can mean that we miss out on potentially wonderful opportunities. Our internal critic pipes up and can trigger off negative thought processes. We might be thinking things like:
“I can’t do this”
“I’m not up to it”
“This is impossible”
“I might as well forget it”
Now, self-doubt is perfectly normal and actually is probably essential to stop us behaving recklessly, but the problem is most of these limiting beliefs are simply not true. If you notice these kind of thoughts crossing your mind, try replacing them with positive alternatives such as:
“I can do this”
“I can handle this”
Better still, say these things out loud – and mean it (it’s a good idea to do this somewhere private to avoid funny looks!)
A good example is Sir Roger Bannister, the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes in 1954. He did this despite many people, including doctors and scientists claiming that that this was impossible and you’d be putting your health at serious risk if you tried. He clearly didn’t believe this and proved them all wrong. Hundreds of people have now achieved this feat.
So, go out there and achieve the impossible today.
(and for those of you who are not Hitch-Hiker fans 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life the universe and everything)
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