Motivational Monday: The Nature of "I Can't"

Happy Monday! You can do it!

"I can't" is a troublesome creature. Sometimes it is loud and obnoxious--will plant itself firmly in your way and wave its frightening tendrils as it screams reasons why you will not be able to do what you set out to. Sometimes it flashes red, expands its chest and charges at you, makes you cry by battering your head with all of your inadequacies. Sometimes it wraps itself around you and tries to suffocate the fire within you.

But it is not at these times that "I can't" is most dangerous. When it is in your face, you can fight it, yell back, prove it wrong. No. "I can't" is most dangerous when you don't realize it's there.

When it is not shouting for your attention, "I can't" finds other ways to hassle you. It hides in the corners of your mind and whispers to you. It tells you not that you can't do things, but that you should doubt what you can do. It taps into your vision of the future and tells you it is only a dream. It sticks it rotten toes in your way and attempts to trip you like the uneven slabs of the sidewalk do. And the scary part is that you don't even realize it.

You might even think that "I can't" is a safety, an excuse for when things don't turn out the way you want. But make no mistake--"I can't" is a monster that will eat out your spirit and drive if you let it.

There are, of course, physical limits and things that your body is unable to do at any particular moment. But do not mistake this for "I can't," because they are different things. Physical limits can be met, can be changed, can be pushed, can be challenged. "I can't" is surrender.

Do not trust "I can't." It tells you it knows the way out, but leads you to the door over the furnace. It promises comfort and a painless existence as it sucks the life out of you. "I can't" is no friend and deserves none of your thoughts or concerns.