The Power of Belief.

I used to work at a pizza place when I was in high school.  There was a guy there that was a little intellectually challenged, Daniel.  He had trouble doing the simple things that needed to be done.  However, he could lift 150 lb barrels of dough like it was nothing at all.  When he took out the trash, he would just nonchalantly toss these huge weights into the dumpster.  However, one day, one of the employees Brad thought he would have some fun with this guy.  He brought in his bowling ball and convinced this guy that is was very heavy.  In fact, Brad did such a good job convincing him that Daniel could not lift the bowling ball over his head.  He would strain and strain and not be able to lift it above his head.  Then Daniel said that the old dough had to be thrown out, and Daniel went and lifted the 150 lb containers again like it was nothing at all.

Now I know that this was not the right way to treat Daniel.  However, it showed that our attitudes about what we can and cannot do or what we believe does have an impact on reality.  Daniel could never pickup a bowling ball above his head.  He was convinced it was just too heavy.  And to him and his muscles it was too heavy.  The old dough, not that heavy in his own mind,  he handled with ease.

There is another story of a South Asian diver who was told over and over by his father and his father's father that there were no poisonous sea snakes in their pearl beds.  In fact, there were some poisonous species.  However, the sons would sometimes be bitten and suffer no effects at all from the venom, where other divers would quickly go into shock and sometimes die from the same venom.  When the Western Researchers showed this diver the consequences of this venom on small animals, and showed him the damage done to living tissue under a microscope, the diver went away convinced that indeed some of the sea snakes were venomous.  Later, on a dive, he was bitten by a sea snake, and went into shock and died.  

What is the only difference between this diver before and after talking with the researchers?  His belief.  Before he believed there were no poisonous snakes and therefore suffered no damage from the bite.  Later, he believed they were poisonous and he died from a bite.

Just imagine that what you hold most true about yourself is what is actually true.   You become what you imagine yourself to be.  Can't lift a 14 lb ball but can toss a 150 lb container?  Gets bitten by a poisonous snake and survive?  Makes you think doesn't it!  It sure does me!