The Scarecrow … How To Recondition The Conditioned Doubt.

By: Re’Becca “Crowned ReRe” Alston

I was watching The Wiz the other day. It’s a movie I have watched over and over, but this time, I was overly excited to see it again. A part of me felt like I was going to learn something from watching The Wiz.

And believe it or not … I did! I received a crown moment from the Scarecrow. Yes, the Scarecrow!

Here are some things I noticed about the Scarecrow during his spotlight moment in The Wiz:

1. The Crows took advantage of the Scarecrow because they didn’t believe he had a brain. They found delight and humor as he stood hanging on that pole in the cornfields.

2. The Crows told the Scarecrow that they were looking out for his best interest and there was no reason for him to get down from the pole. They told him there was nothing beyond the cornfields for him.  

3. The Crows taught the Scarecrow the Crow Commandants, three of them were:

                * Thou shalt honor all Crows

                * Thou shalt stop reading all bits of paper and literature

* Thou shalt never get down off of this here pole

*  And let us not forget the ”Crow Anthem”

We  do not know how long the Scarecrow had been up on that pole and how long the Crows had been taunting him, but it must have been for many seasons because it takes a lot of time to condition someone to believe they are someone they are not.

As I was watching The Whiz and singing along, I said to myself, I have been a Scarecrow before. I have allowed others (Crows) to plant ears of doubt in my field.  I have sat with the same company many times; shared my dreams, goals, ideas and was told there was no need for me to accomplish those things – that I would not succeed. I was told I should just continue to stay within the lines and like the Scarecrow, there was nothing beyond the cornfields for me. I believed those people because I thought they were looking out for my best interest. I honestly believed they were telling me these things out of love. 

There came a point when I no longer needed to sit with the Crows to doubt myself. When it came to creating a podcast and building a website, the seeds of doubt, planted by these so-called loved ones, had already taken root in my soul.  The seeds of doubt turned into vines and weeds, constantly reminding me of what I could not do.  Without realizing it, I was reciting my own Crow Commandants! Let’s call them Commandants of Doubt.

Commandment of Doubt

1. Thou shalt not have a voice (People do not want to hear what I have to say)
2. Thou shalt not be inspired by others (Good things happen to them, never me)
3. Thou Shalt not work on personal growth (I am good just the way I am)

These are just some of the doubts planted by my Crows. At one point, I found myself reciting these self-destructive Commandments of Doubt over my life.  

A conversation with my counselor helped me escape my field of doubt and placed me on my yellow brick road! When I shared all the doubts that had plagued me, my counselor said one word that I repeated back to her over and over. The word was “conditioned.” I was conditioned to think negatively about myself because for years I was in ships (relationships) that were truly sinking ships! I believed the negativity the people I thought loved me was saying. Even though I was helping them accomplish their dreams and goals, I had to realize that I was enough to accomplish my own.  I didn’t need anyone to validate me, my goals, or my dreams.

I normalized myself being the Scarecrow in the field; I became conditioned to doubt myself, even when the Crows were no longer around. I had to recondition myself to believe in me. I had to remind myself that if I am not enough for someone else, I am more than enough for myself.

So, I replaced the negative Commandments of Doubt with empowering Crown Commandments:

Crown Commandments:

1.  I am somebody.

 2.  I am capable, loveable, and teachable.

 3.  I can do anything when I try.

 4.  I will be the best that I can be.

These are powerful lines from the poem, I Am Somebody. By: Andreal Davis I have adopted the affirmations above as my/our Crown Commandments. I recite these words to remind myself that I am somebody who is crowned.

I also use sticky notes to write down any of my accomplishments, big or small which is a part of Journaling.

I will say this, I am still working on self-doubt. It honestly took me a week to write this because I was dealing with doubt, even as I attempted to encourage you about self-doubt. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but you must keep pushing in order to overcome years of Crows contaminating your thoughts.

If you are like me, and at one point in your life, or maybe even now, you allowed Crows to keep you stagnated.  As a result, you became the Scarecrow., I encourage you to recite the Crown Commandments and track your progress by writing down your accomplishments.

If you do not believe in yourself, I believe in you! Believe it or not? You need someone to remind you just how amazing you are along this journey. After all, the Scarecrow was needed to remind the Cowardly Lion in me that, “Uneasy is the head that wears the Crown.” 

We will explore the Cowardly Lion more in my next blog post In the meantime… Never forget that you are crowned!