What Can't You Do?

     Take a minute and think about or write down all the things that you can’t do.  Reflect on your list of Can’ts.  Are they really things that you cannot do or are they things that you never tried, did not receive any instruction, did not practice or gain any experience, or simply chose not to do.

     We are subjected to so many four-letter words from a variety of sources, to include movies, TV, and social media.  However, there is one four-letter word that I think is extremely destructive to each one of us.  It is the word “Can’t”.  When we tell ourselves or believe when others tell us, that we can’t do something, we are keeping ourselves in our comfort zone and putting a lid on our potential.  It also lowers our self-image.  Successful people do not let the word can’t interfere with their goals, dreams, and aspirations.  So, if you find your self-talk using the word “Can’t”, drop it from your self-talk vocabulary.  Not using the word “can’t”, opens up all kinds of potential and possibilities.  And make sure that you are not guilty of telling others (children, co-workers, etc.) that they can’t do something.  You may just be stifling someone’s potential to expand and improve their capabilities.

     How many of you can speak Chinese?  If your self-talk responds by saying you “can’t” speak Chinese, you are putting a lid on your potential.  By saying that to yourself, you are saying that you do not have the talent, skills, or ability to learn Chinese.  Yet, there are over a billion people in China, many of whom are children that can speak Chinese.  The truth is, if you had the goal, desire, and determination to speak Chinese, or any other language, you could.  A better self-talk answer might be, “I have not learned to speak Chinese, but if I had the desire or determination to learn Chinese, I know I could.”  

     I do want to be clear about one thing.  Obviously there may be physical or other limitations that may preclude your ability to reach a particular goal.  For example, it is highly unlikely that a 6’6” man, weighing 250 lbs., could ever be a successful jockey and ride in the Kentucky Derby.  So, while being a jockey might not be a suitable career aspiration, there is no reason why this man could not be successful in learning to ride a horse if he had the desire to do so.

     You will never know about your potential if you tell yourself that you can’t do something without having ever tried.  Convince yourself that you have the potential to accomplish anything that you desire.  And if you are unable to do something at the moment, it is not because you can’t, rather it is because you have no desire to have that capability or you just have not had sufficient instruction or experience to become proficient in that ability.  Can’t is a very ugly and destructive word.  Remove it from your vocabulary.  Keep the lid on your potential wide open for yourself and others and don’t allow the word “can’t” to close that lid.

     By the way, can you run a marathon?