There are so many people out there who will tell you that you can’t. What you’ve got to do is turn around and say “watch me”
If there is one thing that I have learned from my friend and mentor, Jim, it’s that there is nothing I cannot do. Jim would tell us to say “I Can” in rehearsals to keep us from telling him that we couldn’t do things because he was tired of all the people who would say “I can’t…”. The funny thing is that if you say it enough, you really begin to believe it, so, yes, I took this one step further, and have attempted to remove the phrase “I can’t” from my everyday life. I’ve been trying this for some time now, and it’s had a drastic affect on my life, and I’ve come to realize that I like it even less when someone else say’s “I can’t” for me. What I’ve come to realize is that when someone tells you that you can’t, it isn’t because they don’t think you can. A majority of the time, it’s that either they do not believe they can and thus neither can you, or they will not let themselves. Now this is not always the case, sometimes they are truly concerned for your well being, but there is a difference between “shouldn’t” and “can’t”.
So here’s a challenge:
The next time someone asks you to do something, seriously consider all the reasons why you want to say “I can’t”, then realize you can say “I can”, even if you have to follow it up with “but I’m not going to”, then comment and let me know how it felt. And if you don’t mind sharing, leave a comment about any time when you wanted to say “I can’t”, but didn’t, then describe for me what resulted. Good or bad, I’d like to hear both.
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Once upon a time a young woman was in an accident and the doctor told her she would never walk again. Instead of accepting what she had been told the young woman worked harder to prove she would walk on her own again, but after 8 months of painful therapy and more surgery than she can remember, things felt hopeless. But one day she looked up from the chair and into the long dark of the hall, with frail arms she lifted herself and she found herself standing on her own facing this dark hall alone, even though fear had a tight grip on her she let go of her heart and with her fingertips to the wall, eyes wide and heart racing, she wept as she took one step, then another and she was walking, for what seemed like the very first time.
ReplyDeleteAlone in the world and against the odds, this woman could have said "I cant" ....but I didnt. sometimes we find our strength when we are the most alone.
I got rid of the word "shouldn't". I'm okay with keeping ahold of "can't" for now. Sometimes you have to accept your limitations. (At least, that's what my tarot reading just told me last night.) And I'm okay with being limited realistic about my limitations. Everyone has them, and it's not a bad thing to be aware of them.
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