I got off the lift and looked down the ski slope. It seemed steep and hostile. I’ve skied that trail before, but yesterday morning I was cold and tired and the snow under my skis felt icy. I was scared.

I told myself “this is too hard. I can’t do this.” Hesitantly, I started skiing. I skied badly, barely making it to the bottom of the hill without crashing.

Later that day, I had a lesson with my ski instructor, Paul. Paul happens to work as a clinical psychologist during the week, which is perfect for me, since I obviously have issues. So Paul and I went back to the same slope. The slope seemed as hostile as before.

Paul taught me a new skiing technique that I found quite helpful, but he did something much more important than that: he showed me the power of positive thinking. Paul told me I am a good skier. He said that it’s all in my head. That our brain can play tricks on us and cause us to perceive things in a way that has nothing to do with reality.

So, someone on the outside might look at me and think, “she’s a great skier. I wish I could ski like her” while at the same time I am thinking (or in my case, whining to my poor husband) “I am a terrible, pathetic skier. I shouldn’t be skiing at all.”

Paul patiently coached me to tell myself that I am a good skier. We used phrases like “I am in control,” “I am relaxed and fluid,” and “I can do this.”

It worked. Telling myself over and over again “I can do this” made me feel that I actually can. I conquered that slope effortlessly. Yes, I learned new techniques too, but I believe the most important part was the positive self-talk. I came back to the same trail later that day, without Paul. I got off the lift, looked down at the mountain, took a deep breath and told myself “I can do this.” And I did. It was one of my best skiing experiences ever.

Obviously, the power of positive thinking applies for areas other than skiing. Whatever challenges we face, we have a much better chance at succeeding if we believe in ourselves. It is also obvious that positive attitude will not be very helpful if we don’t have the basic skills for accomplishing something. I couldn’t ski that trail successfully if I didn’t know how to ski. But once we do have the ability to perform a difficult task, that task will go much smoother if we look at what needs to be done, tell ourselves “I can do this,” and dive right in.

Photo by Chaval Brasil