It’s been raining a lot here in Rome and gray days invite gray thoughts. This morning gray led to black and I saw little hope for change.  Then, like magic, I remembered a childhood book entitled “The Little Engine That Could” with the leitmotif “I think I can“.  To accomplish something, all you need is to convince yourself you can do it.

With this in mind, I sharpened a pencil and began to write affirmations to repeat over and over again like mantras.

For 10 minutes, I stood in front of a mirror trying to hypnotize myself before I realized that what you see is what you get.