“There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect.”

― Ronald Reagan

Last Saturday I was invited to go help as a volunteer for a nonprofit that is near and dear to my heart. I was under the impression that I would be assisting with some games that included tarps and parachutes, it sounded like a blast. Due to wind, and some other circumstances the activity had changed to face painting. For anyone that does not know me, I do not have an artistic bone in my body, so I thought I would hangout for moral support. About 20 minutes into the project there were more kids than volunteers to paint faces. One of the women looked at me, smiled and said, “You can paint a heart, right?” before I could answer an eight year-old girl enthusiastically came skipping over as I, much less enthusiastically, picked up a paint brush.

While I was painting the third kids face, and saw the joy in his eyes, it dawned on me that the kids did not care about my poor painting skills they were just excited to have their face painted. My depictions of soccer balls, sharks, hearts, and even a batman logo were mediocre at best. My real lesson came as the afternoon was winding down. A very ambitious boy, who just witnessed another little boy get a skull painted on his face sat down and said “I want a brown skull, with fire eyes, and wings, and vampire teeth, and bats flying around his head, and…” the list went on for a mile. My first reaction was “I do not think I can do all of that.” Immediately he and his two siblings exclaimed “YES YOU CAN! We believe in you.” My first reaction was a cynical thought that these kids need to be a little more realistic, and my second was that they must read corny inspirational blogs.

Their excitement coupled with their unhesitant belief in my ability allowed me to paint three more skulls, two of which had fire eyes. I had a ton of fun during that three or four hours of painting, doing something that brought real joy to kids, and it reminded me the importance of getting out of my comfort zone.

It took a bunch of little kids to remind me that I need to believe in myself twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. When I am engaged in maximizing my usefulness in the moment, I get to have an amazing experience.

Affirmation: I am capable, capable on making an impact on someone else’s life. I am the positive change this world needs. I believe in myself.

Call to action: I was so blown away by the hope and belief that these kids displayed in my abilities that I did not know I had.  They came through as an outer voice for that inner knowledge that says I can do anything!  Well this is your reminder, take some time today to recognize some limiting thoughts and remember, “YES YOU CAN! We believe in you.” You might just be surprised in what you create as a result today.  Please share your thoughts with us.