HLNYC Home > Wellness > Mental_health > Dr_joe

Positive Thinking Isn’t Enough

November 6th 1988, was a dark and drizzly day in Manhattan. On that dreary morning I was one of twenty-seven thousand runners queuing up to run the New York Marathon. It was a grand, snap-shot of a moment as fire boats in the Hudson River below spewed plumes of red, white and blue water high into the air, TV helicopters hovered overhead with egg-beater cadence while the claustrophobic blanket of twenty-seven thousand bodies from over ninety countries began to come alive with energy and excitement. It was an electrifying experience, fueled with adrenaline, water bottles and six months of anticipation.

When the gun finally went off hurtling us into the twenty-six mile trek, I was experiencing such a high that I barely noticed the rain that had begun to fall. With all the hoopla and excitement, one thing that slipped my attention was the blister that began to form on the sole of my now water-soaked foot. Four miles later in Brooklyn, Mr. Blister introduced itself to me with a searing, burning pain. A blister may not sound like a big deal to you, but when you’re in pain on the fourth mile of a twenty-six mile race, a blister can make for a very long day. After all the months of preparation, I decided to steel myself and not pay attention to the burning that accompanied the squish, squishing of my shoes.

Midway into the race, climbing the gentle slope up the Pulaski Bridge in Queens, I found that I had more to worry about than my burning foot. Everything just seemed to come unraveled. In spite of my training and better sense, I had given in to adrenaline and wound up running much faster than planned. I was beginning to feel a deep fatigue and tightness in my legs. But this was only thirteen miles into the race! And whether I walked or ran, I still had thirteen miles to go before reaching Central Park. A kind of depression set in, a hopeless and trapped feeling. After six months of training, planning and sacrifice, this just couldn’t be happening. But it was. Putting it bluntly, all I wanted to do was quit.

I would have quit running, this I’m sure. But it was exactly at that moment that I noticed a banner draped over the side of an apartment house. It must have been two stories high. It was the now famous Nike Swoosh, along with the logo, Just Do it!

I don’t know if Nike had introduced this logo for the race or not, but it was the first time I had seen it. Through the haze of negativity I read those words and remember smiling. Something in me shifted. In my semi-conscious brooding, those words took root--Just do it! I found someone inside me talking, Yes, that’s it! Stop whining. Come on Joe, just do it! It made perfect sense. In that moment I was able to totally and completely believe the simplicity of the revelation that had come to me. It was like magic, cutting through and shredding my doubts as if they were merely the idle thoughts of a child that had to be dismissed. Every time my focus would come back to the squishing of aching feet or the burning of muscles in my legs, I would reprimand my self and once again insist, Just do it!

I finished the race in a respectable four hours. In spite of my post-race discomfort, I was elated. Considering how I felt at thirteen miles, it was nothing short of amazing that I had managed to finish at all. How did this happen? It wasn’t my thinking the words just do it that enabled me to turn defeat into success that day, it was my willingness to believe the simplicity of Nike’s formula. When you combine positive thinking with complete conviction, the outcome will often seem quite miraculous. The motivational formula that I would like to offer you is this:

50% positive thinking + 50% positively believing = success

Whatever your challenges in life, just telling yourself positives isn’t enough—even if the positives are factual--you have to find a way to believe it. I often hear, “I tell myself I’m smart. I’m talented. I recognize that I usually get the job done. Why do I still feel insecure?” If you’re looking to change your life, positive thinking is just not enough. And that’s why so many motivational programs and self-help books wind up being disappointments. Remember, as powerful as words are, they—words—can’t and won’t change you. Not unless you’re willing to risk believing them.

--Dr. Joe