Two stories
The following is a story that has
embedded into it a whole series of affirmations. This is particularly useful for
someone with low self-esteem. Although written about William, he can readily be
replaced with the name of a female
Story #1 William's story
William was a young man who awoke one
morning saying to himself, “I feel good” and he did feel good. In
fact, the more he told himself he felt good, the better he felt. Now William did
many things, and in all these things he enjoyed doing them. He enjoyed
doing many things. Some of these things were mental, and he enjoyed doing
mental things; some were physical, and he enjoyed doing physical things
too. And part of the reason why William woke feeling so good, was that in all
the things he did, whether mental or physical, this brought him closer to his
goals. As the days went by, he became clearer and clearer about his goals: his
long-term goals, his medium-term goals and his short-term goals. William also
knew that his goals could only be achieved with effort, nothing in life could be
achieved without some effort. And William enjoyed this effort because it
brought him closer to his goals.
Now William was not sure of his
ability and whether he had mastered the appropriate characteristics to be great.
He would say to himself, “I am the greatest” and he would say this
frequently… he knew it was a great phrase of Mohammed Ali, one of the greatest
boxes of all time… and yet William knew that simply saying, “I am the
greatest” was not enough, he had to believe that he was the greatest… But he
was not sure how he could convince himself that he was the greatest… truly,
deep down, the greatest…
One day he happened to be passing a
large poster. On this poster it said… “No matter what your dream, let you
dream come true.” And it simply gave a telephone number. Now William certainly
dreamed of becoming a great man … and so without hesitation, he made the
telephone call. He did so with some uncertainty and yet combined with
excitement. The man on the other end said simply that he must take a journey…
a journey the like of which he had never known… and this journey would take
him to see a wise old man in a far off land who would reveal to him how his
dream would come true… But the journey was arduous… since nothing of
value could be gained without effort, dedication and determination… And so
William set off on this arduous journey.
The journey took him to a far off land
where he was to seek out a passage which led into the interior of a mountain…
in this mountain lived the old wise man… After many days and nights, William
cam on the entrance to the mountain. He was uncertain, but more than that, he
was excited about the meeting and what to expect…
[Deliberate switch now to the present
tense.]
William follows the passage down into
the centre of the mountain… although it gets darker and darker… his eyes
become accustomed to the light and William has no real difficulty… He comes on
a door in the rock and knows that this is that he seeks…. William opens the
door and enters… The room is strange with all strange objects and scrolls
scattered around… although in some sort of order… In the centre of the room
is a round table… and in the far corner is a man seated with his back to
William. He is old… and his hair is pure white… He does not turn around…
he simply says, “William, I have been waiting for you… please sit down at
the table in the centre of the room.” Although by no means a command… the
fact that the old man knew of William’s arrival and knew his name made this
the obvious thing to do… The old man continues, still without turning
around… “Why have you sought me out?” William says, “I want to excel
in all the things I choose to do. I want to excel to my own standards in all
that I do… But I do not know how to do this.”
There was a silence for a few
moments… and quite clearly the old man was thinking about William’s problem.
He then came over to the table and sat opposite William. The old man had white
hair blue eyes, which seemed to penetrate the soul of a person… he wore a
simple outfit and around his neck he had a chain on which a medallion hung. The
medallion had in its centre a magnificent green crystal. The old man took a
large green crystal from a pouch that hung about his waist and placed the large
crystal in the centre of the table. He said to William to look into the crystal
and all would be revealed to him… and so William looked into the crystal
wondering what would happen next…
A beam of light suddenly entered the
chamber… the beam of light shone on the old man focusing on his medallion
about his neck… the green crystal in the centre of the medallion deflected the
light into the green crystal in the centre of the table… and then suddenly, a
beam of green light shone from the crystal and into the centre of the forehead
of William…. It was not unpleasant… it
was simply a surprise… William became fixated on the crystal in the centre of
the table… drawn by the ray penetrating his forehead… It was as if he and
the crystal had become one… The crystal began to expand in all directions, and
a whole scene opened up before his eyes…
In this scene was he himself… He
was calm and relaxed… and because he was relaxed and without tension, he
could do his best in all things… he could do his best in mental things,
he could do his best in physical things… he could even handle his emotions in
the best way possible… He was handling everything well… he was
handling physical things well, he was handling mental things well, and he was
handling emotional things well… he seemed always in control… always
calm and relaxed… always positive and optimistic.
The scene now changes and William is
doing something physical. Something he needs to do, something he has to do. He
is calm and relaxed and doing this physical thing with just the right muscles
for the job, just the right amount of tension…Just the right amount
of adrenalin is flowing, and activating just the right muscles in his body.
William sees himself with a tremendous inner strength… a great inner
strength that he can call on at any time… And this inner strength,
this inner strength that William knows he can call on at any time, comes
from the fact that William likes being him… he approves of himself…
he approves of the way he goes about the things he does… the mental things,
the physical things and the emotional things… He sees himself excelling to his
own standards… and he approves of this… he feels good about himself… he
feels positive… he feels confident…
The scene now fades and William once
more sees the crystal in the centre of the table… the rays of light have
disappeared and he feels calm and peaceful… he feels as if he has glimpsed
into his own being and seen what potential he contains within himself… that
his potential will come to light in the days… the weeks… the months… the
years ahead. And of this William has no doubts… He is now positive and
optimistic about his future, more than he has ever been before… And as he
contemplates what has just happened, he realises how important it is to like
himself and approve of himself… and he vows to do this from now on… He knows
deep down within himself that he can cope… that he can cope with all things…
that no matter how things change, no matter what is occurring, he will flow
easily with the change, adapting with the change… that in fact he will find
change exciting… that it is through change that opportunities will offer
themselves and he would take these opportunities positively and
enthusiastically.
He thanks the old man for his help and
returns from the centre of the mountain into the daylight filled with energy,
filled with vigour, filled with an excitement about the future ahead of him.
This next
story is about Wilma Smith, you can replace it by a man’s name if you consider
you want to hear it from a male point of view. Nor does it have to be about
economics. This can be replaced with any other subject, sport, or music career.
Story #2 Wilma's story
I first knew Wilma Smith when she had
just turned eighteen and had been accepted into college. She had applied to do
economics, although she knew very little about it. At school this was not a
subject that was taught. She had heard that it was not an easy subject, and that
it had often been called the ‘dismal science’. But that did not deter her.
On the contrary, she liked and enjoyed a challenge. She wanted a subject that
would stretch her intellect.
She
attended each lecture as if it were her first. Always listening intently to the
lecturer; always focussed on the main ideas of what was being presented. At
first she found this a little difficult, but she realised that this was because
the subject was knew. She realized that all subjects have a vocabulary and
language all of their own that needs to be mastered. All subjects have
fundamental principles that need to be learned. Some of her friends wanted to
get on with the ‘real’ economics: the economics that applied to the real
world and not all this theory and model building that seemed to be the mainstay
of what was being taught. But Wilma was more perceptive. She knew that the
lecturers were building up a framework of understanding – of learning to walk
before they learned to run as it were. So Wilma approached all classes with
enthusiasm no matter what the subject matter. She focussed and concentrated at
all times. Wilma was determined to excel in her chosen subject and did
everything that was necessary to achieve this aim.
Wilma read all the books and articles
that were prescribed, and some more in addition. She considered nothing beyond
her understanding. Not that she was arrogant, just that she believed that with
her full attention and determination she could master all things within her
subject. So not only did she master the theory, but also she read about the
lives of the great economists: about Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, Alfred
Marshall, and John Maynard Keynes. She read about some of the living economists,
such as Paul Samuelson and Milton Friedman. This increased her insight into the
subject and she liked reading about why other people chose to do economics. She
was surprised to find that John Maynard Keynes’ first book was on the theory
of probability. Like many students, she thought that he was always an economist.
As Wilma’s knowledge and
understanding of economics grew, so did her enthusiasm for the subject. She
looked forward to tutorials and seminars when she could ask the lecturer about
the subject and the people that she had read. For this reason Wilma always
prepared well for her tutorials. Presentations were a joy and something she
looked forward to. She liked displaying her knowledge of the subject. Yet, at
the same time, if she was pulled up either by a fellow student or by the
lecturer about a point, that did not worry her. She always saw that as a
positive sign; a sign that they were listening to her and interested in what she
had to say. She knew that sometimes she would make mistakes, but that from
mistakes came learning. She had confidence in herself and her mastery of the
subject. She trusted in herself. Wilma was even prepared to take a risk in
tutorials. She would express her own views on the subject. She recalled seeing
the film, A beautiful Mind about the
life of John Nash. She always thought Nash was an economist since it was his
game theory she was taught in her third year. Wilma was surprised to find that,
like Keynes, John Nash was a mathematician. But most of all she liked the scene
in which John Nash first thought about strategic interaction and argued that
Adam Smith was wrong! It was the first time she had seen in action someone
disputing a most fundamental concept of her subject. She was excited and
exhilarated all at the same time. She realised at that moment that she too could
make a difference. That she too could change the course of her subject so long
as she was prepared to put in the effort. This became her goal. Like Nash, she
wanted to make a difference.
But she also realised that this meant
hard work. It meant learning all there was to know about the subject. She
appreciated John Nash’s approach. He read little but rather worked everything
out from first principles. But this was not Wilma’s approach. Wilma knew her
strengths and was going to utilise them to the full. Wilma was going to excel in
all she did. She learned to read quickly, efficiently and with full
comprehension. Nothing was beyond her understanding. She retained everything
that she read and had confidence in her unconscious mind absorbing all the
information she read. She was confident that all she read went into her
long-term memory banks. She even learnt to relax her body while studying. This
made her more alert and clear minded so capable of recalling all that she knew
when it was required. She enjoyed her subject more and more as the days went by.
She found it very easy to get down to the studies she had to do because she
enjoyed the subject. Even examinations were not a bother to her. She approached
them with enthusiasm and confidence. She went into her exams with a relaxed body
and a clear mind. She always had the right amount of tension. She had confidence
in herself and trusted her unconscious mind. Trusted that it would deliver the
right information at the right time to whichever question that she was
answering.
Wilma left university with a
first-class degree and went on to do great things. To this day Wilma is still
enthusiastic about economics. To Wilma it never was the dismal science.
