Breaking down the unseen barriers: ‘’Yes, I can!’’

By Tania Erika Poma Mollinedo

La Paz, Bolivia — Most of us tend to develop negative ideas about ourselves — by being influenced by other peoples’ opinions, by underestimating our capacities, or by focusing only on our limitations. This creates barriers in our subconscious that change and obstruct our actions. Unfortunately, this can occur during childhood.

As children try out new things, some of them may become afraid or frustrated when they’re faced with difficulties. When other people — including the children’s peers — see this, they may make negative comments or judge the children harshly, which, in turn, builds more barriers. The most important thing to do in these situations is to encourage the children who are having difficulties and not to force them. The wonderful thing about this is that later they will adopt this mind-set themselves.

Maria, a 7-year-old girl, was unable at first to carry out certain activities; yet, once she succeeded in doing so, she was the one who encouraged her friends to complete their tasks.

She always started by saying, ‘’I can’t do it,’’ which became self-fulfilling and limited her progress. She didn’t believe in her own abilities; but we worked with her, we used different strategies to help her; and we constantly told her and showed her that she was capable.

As time went on, Maria’s attitude changed. She stopped objecting to the tasks in front of her and wanted to do more. One time, she heard one of her friends saying, ‘’I can’t do it,” and she encouraged her to continue the activity, arguing that everything can be achieved in life. When motivation comes from the children themselves, it is much stronger, because they identify with one another and are inspired by what they can each achieve.

Overcoming the barriers in our subconscious is not a simple task. In our day-to-day lives, as we measure our own abilities against those of others, we see that we all have different strengths and so we cannot all do the same things. But this is not a reason to limit ourselves. What is important is to understand that we all have intelligence and that we must try to use it in the best possible way. To do so, we must overcome the barriers in our own subconscious and help others overcome theirs, as we have seen children do. Childhood is a time filled with surprises, and we can learn a lot from it.