Tweetension

Call this "twee" or "pretension", or what you like, but it plays on my mind a lot --

Henry Ford said: "Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right".

In most situations I almost entirely agree with this (obviously not all. I've tried very hard to fly like Superman - to the extent of wearing my knickers on the outside of my trousers - but it ain't happening. And yes, there are more sensible examples. Work them out). My believing the sentiment above inexplicably annoys lots of people (and no, I do not go around quoting it - it's just a philosophy I follow, so the attitude becomes obvious even if the quotation itself remains hidden). But it seems to make a lot of sense. First off, "I can't do it" is a phrase (and, often, attitude) heard all the time, and it's almost never true - almost always it is a pathetic excuse for either being a lazy sod, or giving up as soon as the going gets slightly difficult. That's annoying. Secondly, as suggested in that last, continually thinking "I can't do it" has an alarming tendency to morph into an actual inability - and that's just destructive.

Of course I'm not ruling out the incomprehensibly massive part that luck has to play in every 'journey to success' (or whatever awful marketing phrase you might choose). But to be twee and pretentious (if you like) again - "The more you practice, the luckier you get". Luck remains, though. The utterance "God willing" is an important one, and whether you call it God's will or luck, it's still there.

Believing you can is definitely not enhanced by other people saying "Of course you can, you'll be fine". Really, it doesn't help. Weird, that. Ending there - busy week, short thoughts.