Someone stole my boots
Most of us have moments when it feels as if we have nothing left to give; that we have used up all the gas in our gas tanks and will not be able to refuel for the next 1000 miles. At the same time, we may feel as if there is no one else to take care of our infant child, no one else to tend to the business, no one else to make sure the hungry neighbor has food, or no one else to cover others in a combat situation. I call these my humpty dumpty moments. I know that if I stop for a second I will fall, break into a million pieces and no one will be able to put me back together again. Yet very often I find that I complete whatever task I need to complete. I may not have dome my best job, but I did what needed to be done and I am still in one piece. I often then wonder how I managed. Perhaps, without me noticing someone else finished the task. Perhaps someone secretly gave me a massive dose of the right vitamins.
It is probably the case that no one intervened. Most likely, I kept putting one foot in front of the other and without consciously realizing it I took enough steps to reach the destination. I often do this when riding my bike for the first time in the spring. I know I cannot make it to the top of the hill, but I can make it to the next tree or whatever marker I have chosen as a focus. Eventually I find myself at the top of the hill.
How does one do this? How does one keep going when it feels as of one does not have any bootstraps by which to pull myself up; when it feels as if someone stole one’s boots?
Obviously there are times when one does not have any boots; when one does not have the resources, one needs to accomplish a task and has no way of obtaining those resources. The boots or resource one is missing may be actual shoes, drivers license, gas for one’s vehicle, telephone or some other essential. On the other hand, the resource one needs may be an internal one such as the strength to go to work; the energy to take care of one’s child; the resolve to finish a task for school or work; or the time to stop to help a stranger in trouble. In these instances, one may find that if one does not feed the internal chatter one can accomplish more than one feels one could,. There are many stories of someone lifting a car off of a trapped person, an exhausted person reaching out to help a sick family member or neighbor or accomplishing some other seemingly impossible task. In those instances, one acted without thinking. One did not stop to question whether one had the energy, strength or time. One just acted. It is when we begin to feed the internal chatter; when one questions whether one can do something that one is unable to act. Very frequently if one is assisting one’s child or someone else for whom one feels responsible one does not even ask the question of whether one has the energy or the strength, One just acts.
It is true that one first needs legs to wall, but one does not need legs to move about. I know a number of people who manage to move about using other parts of their body. It is true that one needs gas to operate a vehicle, but I know people who will beg, borrow, or steal gas if their child has a medical emergency but would not do that for themselves. While it is important to recognize and accept our limitations it is also important to honor the power of the mind. As soon as one questions whether or not one can accomplish a task; as soon as one starts telling oneself one cannot do something, the more likely it is that one cannot do the task no matter what it is.
A supportive friend, doctor, parent, teacher or therapist will respect the feelings of an individual while, at the same time, support them in tapping into that reserve of strength and energy we all have . We are the engine who could. If, however, there truly is no engine the train cannot move. There may, however, be a way to commandeer that engine. The mind is the chief engine of the human body. If the mind is saying some task cannot be done, it cannot be done. If the mind is saying that it feels as if it cannot be done, one may want to allow for the possibility, that, in fact, it can be done. One may be so tired it feels as if we no longer have boots but check your numb feet. One may not have lost one’s boots after all.
Written November 28. 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
Most of us have moments when it feels as if we have nothing left to give; that we have used up all the gas in our gas tanks and will not be able to refuel for the next 1000 miles. At the same time, we may feel as if there is no one else to take care of our infant child, no one else to tend to the business, no one else to make sure the hungry neighbor has food, or no one else to cover others in a combat situation. I call these my humpty dumpty moments. I know that if I stop for a second I will fall, break into a million pieces and no one will be able to put me back together again. Yet very often I find that I complete whatever task I need to complete. I may not have dome my best job, but I did what needed to be done and I am still in one piece. I often then wonder how I managed. Perhaps, without me noticing someone else finished the task. Perhaps someone secretly gave me a massive dose of the right vitamins.
It is probably the case that no one intervened. Most likely, I kept putting one foot in front of the other and without consciously realizing it I took enough steps to reach the destination. I often do this when riding my bike for the first time in the spring. I know I cannot make it to the top of the hill, but I can make it to the next tree or whatever marker I have chosen as a focus. Eventually I find myself at the top of the hill.
How does one do this? How does one keep going when it feels as of one does not have any bootstraps by which to pull myself up; when it feels as if someone stole one’s boots?
Obviously there are times when one does not have any boots; when one does not have the resources, one needs to accomplish a task and has no way of obtaining those resources. The boots or resource one is missing may be actual shoes, drivers license, gas for one’s vehicle, telephone or some other essential. On the other hand, the resource one needs may be an internal one such as the strength to go to work; the energy to take care of one’s child; the resolve to finish a task for school or work; or the time to stop to help a stranger in trouble. In these instances, one may find that if one does not feed the internal chatter one can accomplish more than one feels one could,. There are many stories of someone lifting a car off of a trapped person, an exhausted person reaching out to help a sick family member or neighbor or accomplishing some other seemingly impossible task. In those instances, one acted without thinking. One did not stop to question whether one had the energy, strength or time. One just acted. It is when we begin to feed the internal chatter; when one questions whether one can do something that one is unable to act. Very frequently if one is assisting one’s child or someone else for whom one feels responsible one does not even ask the question of whether one has the energy or the strength, One just acts.
It is true that one first needs legs to wall, but one does not need legs to move about. I know a number of people who manage to move about using other parts of their body. It is true that one needs gas to operate a vehicle, but I know people who will beg, borrow, or steal gas if their child has a medical emergency but would not do that for themselves. While it is important to recognize and accept our limitations it is also important to honor the power of the mind. As soon as one questions whether or not one can accomplish a task; as soon as one starts telling oneself one cannot do something, the more likely it is that one cannot do the task no matter what it is.
A supportive friend, doctor, parent, teacher or therapist will respect the feelings of an individual while, at the same time, support them in tapping into that reserve of strength and energy we all have . We are the engine who could. If, however, there truly is no engine the train cannot move. There may, however, be a way to commandeer that engine. The mind is the chief engine of the human body. If the mind is saying some task cannot be done, it cannot be done. If the mind is saying that it feels as if it cannot be done, one may want to allow for the possibility, that, in fact, it can be done. One may be so tired it feels as if we no longer have boots but check your numb feet. One may not have lost one’s boots after all.
Written November 28. 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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