Anyone likes tomatoes? Did you know that it was once believed that tomatoes were poisonous? On one late autumn day in 1830, Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson stood on the steps of the courthouse in Salem, Massachusetts with a basket full of tomatoes. Despite warnings that its poison would turn his blood to acid, he told several hundred spectators that he planned to eat the entire basket – and survive. As we can probably guess, he survived all right.

Anyone likes to travel? Did you know that it was once believed that the world is flat? People would dare not to go beyond the known boundary in fear that they would “fall off the earth.”

These beliefs may seem ridiculous now. But they were not so at the time. One intriguing thing about these stories is how beliefs can change. The things we thought to be true at the time can turn out to be completely fault. Our beliefs system has a lot to do with the world we grow up with. If our parents, our families, our friends, everyone we know, and the world around us agree on one fact, it must be true right? It is so most of the times, but not always. We do have a choice. We can form our own belief. And when we do, our actions will also follow. So if our old beliefs are holding us back, why not try a new one for a change? Who knows, biting on that tomatoes might not be so bad after all.

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Standing behind the base line, my eyes were focus on the yellow ball on the opposite end across the net. As the tennis ball angled toward the deep right corner, I rushed to cover and returned it with a sharp cross-court forehand. It was a good return as I put it deep into the opposite corner. I rushed toward the net knowing that my opponent won’t be able to put much of a return if he gets to it.

I was right; he barely put his racquet to the ball. But the soft stroke went over my head, and I leaped up the air for it. As I came down, my footing was off. My hand somehow took my body weight and scraped against the concrete floor. Blood were dripping from my fingers and my hip took a major blow. I was shaken but in the heat of the moment, I wasn’t gonna quit, not when I’m about the win the match.

After the sweet victory, I went to wash the blood soaked fingers. The pain that wasn’t felt before started to come as I let a stream of warm water through it. The sting was surely there as I felt the soft tissue at the end of my right pinky finger. My mind went berserk as I realized that my nail was gone. I was shocked for it didn’t hurt that much at the time I fell. After a trip to the emergency room and a few days of rest, I realized something about this whole episode. Our action depends on our perspective. If I were aware that I lost a nail at the moment, I would have stopped playing for sure. It’s amazing how our mind can do wonders over our body. What we focus on controls our mind. If we could learn to control our thoughts and focus on only what we want to achieve, who knows what we can accomplish. How far would we go in life, if we let it loose and just pursue on?

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