what you can do

It isn't true that you can do anything you want to do in life. If I wanted to become an NBA star, I'd face substantial hardship. Not to mention my age, height and weight, we'd have to start with the fact that if you throw a ball at me, I follow my natural tendency to duck. These, and other compelling reasons, would make my career as a pro-ball player something close to impossibility.

Most of us, however, don't have impossible dreams. We may fantasize about being on stage like Madonna, or playing baseball with whatever team is hot, but a fantasy isn't the same as a dream. It is important to pay attention to your fantasies, though. If you think about it, you may find that your fantasies have a common thread; perhaps popularity, attention, respect . . . these may be things that you feel are lacking in your life today.

If you have a goal, or a dream, the first step is to acknowledge that you can do it if you are willing to put the time into accomplishing what you set out to do. When I am painting people often stop and watch. Inevitably someone will say, "I can't paint". I will hand them my paintbrush and ask them to touch it to the surface. When they do this I tell them, "Congratulations! You can paint! You may not paint as well as you like, but you have the skills you need to get started!"

You see, there is a big difference between not being accomplished in a skill and not being able to do it at all, and yet we often act like that is not true. If we don't spring from our first attempt into being a genius at what we do, we don't want to do it. How foolish is that?

If you do not start because the task is daunting (see the article below about how to get started), you are losing out on so much more than just learning something new. Everything we learn, everything we do, changes our lives. As learning beings we evolve into something fuller, something more than we were before.

Although there are limits, there aren't many when it comes to what you CAN do. The question is; what will you do?

There is a saying that goes, "I will do today what others will not, so that I can live tomorrow as others cannot." I used to think that was about money, but that is a really narrow view. If you learn to play a musical instrument your life will be greatly enriched. If you start to paint, you will see the world in a new way.

When you say you cannot do something, you bring yourself full stop. There is nowhere to go from "can't". There are a whole host of better words if you want to be cautious; "might not" (or better "might") will work! Watch what you tell yourself when it comes to the things that interest you.

There are many things that you do today that once you thought were impossible. I bet that at one point you thought computers were only for technical people, right?

What we tell ourselves has great power. What is important about this is that WE tell OURSELVES. We control this.

Do this for yourself: the next time you hear 'can't' question what you hear.

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