How My Favorite Childhood Story Changed My Life

I absolutely love the story of the little engine that could.

I still remember the cover of the book that my mother ready for me so many evenings at bedtime as I wanted to stay up one more moment.

On the cover of the book was a blue train engine.

The story starts with a red engine that is plugging along on the train track, and then it runs out of coal.

This presents a problem as the train cannot deliver the food and toys it is transporting to the other side of a mountain.

While waiting for the toys onboard, the train tries to stop two other trains.

Each of those two trains declines to help as they have other things they are involved with.

A third small blue train comes along the train tracks.

The toys stop the little blue engine from helping them cross over the mountain.

The little blue engine pushes back and states that it is not very big.

Additionally, the little blue engine has never been to the mountain before.

As the little blue engine pondered the dilemma, it thinks about the little children on the other side of the mountain that would be saddened by not receiving food and toys.

Then the little blue engine pushed away and repeated the following words.

I think I can.

I think I can.

I think I can.

I think I can.

I think I can.

The little engine pushed with all its might.

All that effort paid off, and the little blue engine got to the top of the mountain.

All the hard work had paid off, and the faith the little blue engine had in itself proved to bear good fruit.

Here’s how this story impacted my life.

There is a lot of power in having faith in ourselves.

Just think how the story would have been different if the little engine said to himself

I think I can’t.

I think I can’t.

I think I can’t.

I think I can’t.

I think I can’t.

I think I can’t.

I think I can’t.

Well, all that negative thinking would have led to negative emotions.

And then, the result of the story would have been predictable.

The little engine would not have made it to the top of the mountain.

Sometimes we just need the smallest morsel of faith in ourselves.

At times when we don’t have that faith in ourselves, we can borrow some faith from someone else.

We could get inspired by watching a motivating movie or reading a story that inspires us.

When we plant that small seed of faith in ourselves, it can grow into something amazing.