Last Word

I used to often overthink things. I would ruminate, dwell, even catastrophize. I was a worry wart from a young age - I would think about something too much, for too long! Things that didn’t need or didn’t deserve to be ruminated over - why this, what if, why not? But a couple of years ago, I watched a video that helped me understand that often, overthinking can simply stem from doors in our heads being shut.

Although this sounds slightly crazy, an example of this is about Harry Houdini the Magician. Houdini once claimed he could break out of any jail cell in the world. “I’ll be out of there in one hour,” he said. A jail heard of his claims and accepted his challenge. On the day, many people arrived to watch. Houdini walked confidently into the jail cell, and they shut the metal doors behind him.

Houdini had hidden a 10 inch tough and flexible piece of steel in his belt. He started working on the cell door. Even with a piece of steel, in 30 minutes his confident expression was starting to disappear. After 1 hour, he was sweating profusely and after 2 hours, he collapsed against the door in defeat. Unexpectedly, the door opened. It opened, because the door had never been locked in the first place. However, In Houdini’s mind, the door was locked - firmly bolted and stuck in place.

The mind is an extremely powerful tool. It is potentially the most powerful tool that we will ever come up against. But how many doors are locked in your head, that in reality aren't? How many times have you overthought a situation that actually, has a simple solution - by simply “pushing the door open and walking straight through?”

Our minds will sometimes confuse us and encourage negative thinking. Maybe that we’re not strong enough or that someone doesn't like you. That you’re not good enough. We need to learn to thank our beautiful mind for its opinion, but if it's negative, put it aside and calmly carry on. As Houdini showed, sometimes it is our mind that closes the door. Perhaps the door isn’t firmly shut, and you just need to give it a nudge. Or figuratively, pop those worries in a balloon, release your balloon in the great outdoors, and watch your worries float away!!