The Death of Can't

“This ain’t no tall order, this is nothin’ to me. Difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week.” - Jay-Z

‍

For those who know me, I’m a bit of a rap junky. I love the lyrics and the meaning. I love the wordplay. I love the metaphors. I love the bravado.

This line from Jay-Z…Difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week...resonates in my mind when I hear the word “can’t”. Today, we are going to work on the death of the word “can’t”.

The word can’t is simply a limiter. You tell someone else they can’t do something so they don’t do it. Either you don’t believe they are able to do it or you don’t want them to do it.

You tell people YOU can’t do something to reduce the expectations they have for you. Or, even more harmful, to limit the expectations you have for yourself.

Why would you limit yourself? Why would you try to limit someone else?

Self-doubt and the word can’t are powerful in their ability to hold you back. Here’s the deal...your limiting beliefs often surface in your own head, in your self-talk.  That inner voice focuses on what you are so convinced you can’t do. Wouldn’t it be great if that voice focused on what you can already do and what you’ll do into the future?

How do you silence that voice that bellows so loudly?

Let’s start with the word YET. “I can’t do that yet.” Look! You just took the power away from can’t!

That one word, yet, removes those limits. It is something you can do when you learn how or work toward it! 

Another way to look at it is to attack the can’t. Ask yourself…“How can I?” When you don’t believe you can do something, take a look at what it will take to do it. Then, are you willing to do what it takes to get there? A new skill, a new language, playing an instrument, the next round of the workout….

Whatever that thing is, are you willing to do what it takes to be able to do it? Most often I find people can exchange the word can’t with the word won’t. It isn’t that you can’t do it. It’s that you won’t do it. 

(Obviously, there are limitations where we are physically incapable of doing something...let’s not go there. There is a difference between can’t and physically incapable.)

So, remove your limits. Don’t limit others. Unleash your potential and lift up others around you. You CAN. And when you switch your mindset, you’ll believe: “This ain’t no tall order, this is nothin’ to me. Difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week.”