Who's keepin' it REAL? Wait.. I thought it wasn't real..

Who's really driving the perpetuation of this myth? I say the media is where we see primary examples. 

One obvious answer of WHO IS perpetuating the myth is the children's stories like "The Little Train That Could." However, lately I think that children's shows have been doing better about portraying the myth. We can all probably list a TV show that depicts this situation to be commonly occurring. TV shows like The Rugrats.. etc.. HOWEVER! The difference in these shows is we can see a kernel of truth lying behind these myths.  

In the Rugrats we can see an example of correct self affirmation in the heart of the character that we all know and love. Chuckie Finster. Chuckie's the person in the show who is labeled the scaredy cat, but pulls through in some situations because he believes that he can. Such bravery in the heart of babies. In the TV show, we see an important distinction in the context of the myth. The myth can apply to both realistic, and unrealistic situations. Every situation that the Rugrats find themselves in is completely realistic. 

Although the media is a primary driver for perpetuating the myth, it seems to be portraying it in a way that is less intense than the "Little Engine That Could." Rather nowadays, there are more situations that we find ourselves in and still do emphasize preparation as necessary. Hey Arnold shows an episode where a player on Arnold's team is having a tough time with free shots, and Arnold trains him to believe in himself rather than relying strictly on skill itself. In Hey Arnold, training in self affirmation was emphasized all along, but paired with physical training as well. 

Another situation in which we see the kernel portrayed in the right way is in nearly EVERY KARATE/FIGHT/KUNG FU/ JUJITSU/ HIIYAAHH movie you've ever seen in your entire lifetime. There is a point where the main character of the movie is paired against someone who is ridiculously good, and the ridiculously good person just crushes the main character. Let's take for example.. The Karate Kid. Daniel san finds himself paired against an opponent who makes him feel like he'll lose. Then we see the power of self affirmation, paired with physical skill. This should be a vivid example of how self affirmation should be encouraged, but not emphasized as the only thing that you need.