May Positivity Challenge – Don’t Believe Everything You Think

Peter Pan is a story about never growing up and believing in the unbelievable. When I was a kid, my younger sisters had a VHS of Peter Pan starring Sandy Duncan. They loved that movie. We watched it A LOT, but the scene that sticks out most in my mind is the one where Tinkerbell’s light is going out and Peter Pan begs the audience to clap and cheer so that Tinkerbell would know they believed in her. Eventually, Tinkerbell’s light grew brighter; the music swelled and Peter Pan’s enthusiasm grew, knowing that darn good and well the kids at home JUST HAD to be clapping and cheering their little hearts out to bring Tink back.

Well, here’s the thing. Not everyone was cheering. (In my house we were not all cheering because we had seen the film 12,867 times.) Most were not cheering because they knew that Tinkerbell was just a light on the television screen and no amount of in-home enthusiasm was going to change that bulb’s brightness. The unbelievers chose not to support the idea that there was a fairy dying from unbelief of children.

Okay?!? Right now you are thinking, where is the positivity here? Why are you killing off Tinkerbell?

First of all, I did not kill Tinkerbell. She went on to have many successful animated films and can still be visited at the Disney theme parks. (No Disney magic was destroyed in the making of this post.)

Second, the positivity comes when we remember that we do not have to believe everything we think.

Just because you’ve thought or told yourself something 12,867 times does not make it true. It only takes one time of saying something new or allowing a fresh thought to have a chance to revive faith in yourself.

While the act of growing up cannot be avoided, we can avert dark thoughts and negativity from being the force that flourishes in our minds.

We do not have to believe everything we thought in the past.

Instead we have the power to believe that things can and will work out. We have the ability to believe in our beauty, intelligence, strength, drive, and potential. We can rally ourselves to a brighter outlook knowing that what we believed in the past is wrong.

This month I encourage you to consider a thought, worry, or insecurity that you have allowed to plague your heart or mind.

Think about the:

• I’m not good enough’s
• I’m not smart enough’s
• I don’t have the resources to….
• I don’t have the experience…
• I don’t like my….
• People don’t think I can…
• ___________ said I will never….
• They will think I’m dumb if….
• I will never fit in because….

Now decide which one of those old beliefs you want to prove false.

Challenge that insecurity with the understanding that you know it isn’t true. It can’t be true. No way on God’s green earth can it be reality because you no longer believe in it.

Practice your mantra of disbelief for doubt. Proclaim your power to do/accomplish/overcome/slay that uncertainty.

You do not have to believe everything you think, but you should always believe in your ability to succeed.

By: Melanie A. Peters

P.S. I really did want to feed that VHS to the TickTock Crock.