A lesson I work on teaching my children everyday. Never use "I can't"

[James]

It's all in our head.

Our mind tells us a lot of horrible things and lies to us all the time. 

At some point I learned to change the words "I can't" into "How can I?"

This small change in mindset started opening more doors for myself.

When managing my team at work when I started to hear "I can't" I started to ask people to change that to "How can I?"

I brought that home to the family and especially the children. 

Children like to tell us all the reasons why they "can't" do something. Much like adults justifying their actions using any means necessary. 

Try it with yourself and see how it works. It has helped me a ton as I continue to grind forward through life.  

So let's stop our mind from putting up these road blocks and find our way through or around them. 

Is this something you already do? 

[Stacey]

I remember saying this as a kid and my parents would always say "There is no can't in try!" and for the longest time, I didn't understand what it meant. They used it when I was learning to ride a bike for the first time as well as other occasions throughout my childhood. Thinking back now, it was probably the best thing they could have said because it taught me to try, even if I can't right now because eventually with enough practice, I can!

[Sophia]

I have a habit of thinking this and saying this and I always get yelled at by my friends and family over it. lol

My loving husband on the other hand just says "of course you can!" and things like "you can do anything you allow yourself to". So at least I have him on my side, not lecturing me and yelling at me over it. It is tied in with my anxiety issues which I do need to work on. 

[James]

21 minutes ago, Sophia said:

I have a habit of thinking this and saying this and I always get yelled at by my friends and family over it. lol

My loving husband on the other hand just says "of course you can!" and things like "you can do anything you allow yourself to". So at least I have him on my side, not lecturing me and yelling at me over it. It is tied in with my anxiety issues which I do need to work on. 

The brain is a evil thing always looking to take the easiest path which of course is never in our best interest. If we tell ourselves something enough or if we hear something enough we start to believe it. Stay positive and remember you can accomplish anything it is you choose to put consistent effort towards. The harder the goal the better it will feel when you make it to the other side. 

[Brenden]

Yeah, whenever someone says they can't, I always think that they mean they won't. Because that's what it is. If you're scared of something for example, and you can't fight it, that just means you won't fight it. You're letting it win, by being scared of it. 

That's how I see it anyway. 

[Sophia]

On 5/24/2021 at 3:41 PM, James said:

The brain is a evil thing always looking to take the easiest path which of course is never in our best interest. If we tell ourselves something enough or if we hear something enough we start to believe it. Stay positive and remember you can accomplish anything it is you choose to put consistent effort towards. The harder the goal the better it will feel when you make it to the other side. 

It is funny too, whenever I start to make a positive change in my life, I end up hurting myself or something comes up that interferes with it. So annoying but I am doing my best to stick to some things and hopefully once I form the healthy habits they stay with me for life.