“Some men have thousands of reasons
why they cannot do what they want to do,
when all the need is one reason why they can.”
Willie R. Whitney
Good morning! You likely know the people Willie is referring to. No matter what it is they desire – they can create a list of reasons a goal is out of reach that is longer than Santa’s list on a good year. You might even have some of those tendencies yourself. Many people do.
Interestingly we are all born with the “I can” ability. As babies learning to walk, we don’t sit down after that first fall, plop our thumb in our mouth, and count the reasons we will never be able to walk like the “big people” all around us. But somewhere between those young years and adulthood, many of us do just that. We plop doubt in our minds and count the reasons why we will never be able to have the dreams we truly desire.
How do we become addicted to thinking “I cannot” instead of “I can”? Of course, when we are babies we have a team of cheerleaders. Parents or relatives help us stand again, they hold our wobbly legs, and shriek for joy when we make our first steps. Video cameras roll and lights flash in our eyes as if our parents or support team have become paparazzi!
In our lives as adults, we often don’t have that support network saying “Get up and try again,” “Of course you can,” “You can do it!” And in the absence of those positive voices, doubt creeps in.
I wonder what the world would look like if we all stopped today and traded in the list of reasons “we cannot” for just one reason “we can.”
Your Turn:
Your challenge for the day is two-fold. Find someone you believe in and tell them today “You can do it!” whether by email, phone, in-person or a thoughtful card. Then choose something you want in your life and create an ongoing list of the reasons to reflect why you CAN reach the goal.
Your affirmation:
Each day, I tell myself: “I can!”
I wanted to affirm the importance of cheerleaders and their ability to help us reach our potential. I recently worked with a trainer to help me “work out” effectively. She was my cheerleader and honestly, she had me do things I felt were physically impossible. I was tired and out of condition, but she continued to encourage me throughout the grueling work out, she keep telling me “you can do it” I was thinking the opposite! But she did not relent, and guess what? She was right. I did it! I did what I thought was impossible. We have to surround ourselves with positive motivators, i.e. Cheerleaders. Who ever you can enlist, friends, parents, our children, professionals, acquaintances, anyone. (Thanks Patti)