John Henry, is the American folk hero (the above image from the US Postal Service’s stamp), who supposedly raced and defeated a steam powered hammer in constructing a railroad tunnel — showing that a man could still triumph over a machine. Although the folk story ends tragically as John Henry dies, after defeating the mechanized steam hammer, some of the themes of the tale are a can-do spirit, focusing on one’s task, and perseverance in accomplishing a goal.  Another story that taps into that same spirit and themes is the children’s story The Little Engine That Could, — remember the little train’s refrain that “I think I can, I think I can… .” Both favorites of mine when growing up.

But how often do we say, “we have to do something”, like lose weight, exercise, etc., but end up procrastinating. That is because saying “we have to do something”, is more of a passive approach to a task, not an affirmative and direct assertive approach. That is why I like lists, maintaining a certain regimen, and saying “that is something I am doing,” instead of saying “that is something that I have to do”.  Yes, a bit of semantics, but most importantly, it is a mindset, that a task or goal has been identified, and you are engaged doing those steps that are necessary to accomplish the task or goal.  So if you have goals or tasks, do not look at it as something to be done in some future time, but something that you are in the process of accomplishing right now. With that advise, I am now headed to the gym for my 2nd hour of exercise today, with some weight training thrown in.