The Little Engine That Could: A Metaphor for Determination

When I was small, I loved to ride trains. By the time I was 13, The “Main Line local” was whisking me away from the beautiful Philadelphia suburb I arrogantly proclaimed “boring.” It brought me to Center City, Philadelphia, where I could walk interesting sidewalks. My train friend transported me to a city that allowed me to feel more like the self I wanted to be.
But my favorite train lived then and lives now, on my bookshelf. It has a drawing that is etched in my heart. The book cover picture that greets me is a smiling little blue engine with a chimney that puffs clouds of mild grey smoke. A waving clown in a green polka-dotted suit engineers the train from his perch on its top. In back of the brave and stalwart engine are cars chock full of toys and food that need to go from one side of a mountain to the other to bring happiness and sustenance to unnamed children in a distant village.
As a child, my heart ached with hope that the little engine could pull those toys to the children. The little engine’s job seemed formidable to me, even as a young girl, because there were pounds of toys and the engine was small and old. I especially loved that the little engine that could, was “a girl engine.” The story told me that “SHE,” the engine, worried that the children on the other side of the mountain could have no fresh milk or vegetables or toys unless she tried to transport them to the children. And so, SHE said to herself, “I think I can. I think I can.”
Hitching herself to the wagon of toys and dolls, she pulled her precious cargo up the mountain, huffing and puffing with all her might. I especially loved the part where she delivered the toys and delicious fruits to the children. I have always remembered that the children thought they heard her say with confidence, as she made her way back over the mountain, “I thought I could. I thought I could.” And indeed she could.
The classic children’s’ story is a parable: it tells us of motivation in the face of hardship. All of us have our challenges and our gifts. Because I run a practice in Clinical Psychology, I am accustomed to helping clients maximize their natural gifts and work diligently to prevent personal challenges from limiting health and happiness.
Next week I plan to take out my daughter’s original 1954 version of this classic to share with a number of older female clients who must lose weight for their health. Despite substantial earlier success in 2014, some have run into trouble and regained some of the weight they worked so hard to lose. Each woman is disheartened and worried. But it is my intent that the simple phrase, “I think I can,” is to become the byline of our eating control program.
The necessity of weight loss during second adulthood is a severe health hazard and a large burden. Frequently, cravings can become addictive tendencies to sugar, simple carbohydrates and fat. The strength of the group is paramount in helping those endangered become both motivated and positive like the little engine that could… and did.
It would be wise for us all to become little blue engines, huffing and puffing our way to success. Convincing clients to overcome self-doubt and use perseverance to master modest goals enhances lives and transforms the sense of self of those who work to achieve these goals. We know that certain skills are needed to master difficult challenges and the little blue engine epitomizes this process. It helps to silence self-doubt and to quiet that harsh judgmental voice inside. And it is the very picture of Chutzpah, of having the vivacity to insist on saying “I think I can!”
The Little Engine That Could is the story of a female underdog who achieves the most unlikely and improbable of victories. It’s also a story about reaching difficult goals. It’s clear that pulling the train over the mountain is not easy for the little engine. The little engine’s repetition of ‘I think I can’ represents the power of determination and is a metaphor for reaching any challenging goal.
To Consider: Do you have any cravings or addictive tendencies that sneak up on you? Do you ever feel like an underdog when you try to overcome hardship? How might the determination of the little engine that could help you reach a challenging goal in your life?
To read: The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper. A Platt and Munk Classic. 1954. New York. And for the more ambitious reader, The Creative Spirit. D. Goleman, P. Kaufman, and M. Ray. Penguin, 1993.
Dr. Judith Coche, a Clinical Psyhcologist, helps women who must lose weight for their physical and mental health. Find her at The Coche Center, LLC at Rittenhouse Square and in Stone Harbor. www.cochecenter.com.