Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right” isn’t just a motivational poster waiting to be ignored it’s basically life’s subtle way of saying, “Your brain is your boss and it is brutally efficient at proving itself right.”
Henry Ford knew it probably while inventing the Model T which would have been very difficult if he thought, “I can’t build a car.” Imagine the chaos a bunch of engineers staring at an engine like it’s a Rubik’s cube and Ford whispering, “Humans in tin machines? Nope…” Ford literally turned ‘I think I can’ into a highway full of honking proof.
Sports legends live this every day. Michael Jordan got cut from his high school basketball team; an event that would make most teenagers spiral into existential dread and ice cream binges. But Jordan thought, “I can,” practiced until his legs begged for mercy and eventually became a six-time NBA champion. Meanwhile countless equally talented players never make it past local courts because their “I can’t” voices were louder than their sneakers hitting the hardwood. Jordan dunked on the doubt factor.
Business is another goldmine for this principle. Steve Jobs got kicked out of Apple, his own company and didn’t think, “I’m doomed.” He thought, “I will return like a caffeinated superhero,” launched NeXT, acquired Pixar and then returned to Apple to basically rewrite tech history. Contrast that with startups where the founders doubt themselves mid-pitch. Same talent, different mindset and suddenly “unicorn” turns into “sorry, your app won’t launch.” Jobs literally rebooted life mode.
The psychology is fun and a little diabolical. It’s called a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your brain notices patterns, exaggerates them, and then rewards or punishes you for your belief. Think you’ll fail? You procrastinate, freeze up, and your brain whispers, “Told you so.” Think you can? Your brain starts hunting for wins like a caffeinated bloodhound. Essentially, your brain is a drama queen with impeccable timing.
Even in mundane life, the difference is hilarious. Cooking is a classic example. Approach a new recipe thinking, “This will be terrible,” and you will over-salt the pasta, undercook the chicken, and maybe even burn the Yorshires. Approach it thinking, “I’m a culinary wizard,” and you chop with flair, taste-test with confidence, and the end result might even look Instagram-ready. Expectation shapes reality. Your skillet senses confidence.
Online dating is another arena where this quote works its magic. Approach it thinking, “No one will ever like me,” and you’ll write the bio of someone who treats fun like a tax form and reply with all the enthusiasm of a cold toast. Approach it thinking, “I’m charming and borderline irresistible,” and suddenly your texts sparkle, your bio is amusing enough to earn a laugh, and matches appear faster than cat videos. Confidence is basically a swipe-right cheat code.
History loves this quote too. Marie Curie pursued research on radioactivity when society basically screamed, “Women can’t.” She thought she could, and the world got Nobel Prizes, groundbreaking science, and probably a lot of very confused lab assistants. Imagine thinking you can’t and instead staying home knitting scarves, science would have been slightly less radioactive. Curie literally radiated belief…
The humour isn’t just in grand achievements; it’s in daily life too. Think about going to the gym. Walk in thinking, “I can’t lift this,” and your arms will betray you like traitorous spaghetti noodles. Walk in thinking, “I’ve got this,” and your muscles magically remember how to work. Or maybe they don’t, but at least you’ll try, and trying is better than admitting defeat while scrolling TikTok.
Even mundane failures are hilarious when seen through this lens. Try assembling Ikea furniture thinking, “I’ll fail” and you’ll end up with a chair that wobbles like a newborn horse. Think, “I will conquer this Allen key,” and somehow, despite extra screws and existential dread, you end up with something you can actually sit on.
The bottom line: your mindset writes the story before you even start. Think you can, and you open doors, sometimes literally and sometimes metaphorically. Think you can’t, and congratulations, you’ve just installed your own invisible “do not enter” signs. Life, it seems, loves a little bit of humour at your expense, unless you decide to be in on the joke.
What mindset are you in today?
Photo by Viktor Forgacs
