“I Can’t”

By Michael Sorenson

At some point, you might have said to yourself, "I can't." I personally don't like this phrase, because it is only that—a phrase—and not a sentence. Saying "I can't" is an incomplete thought.

Someone who is trying to be encouraging might negate the statement "I can't" with "Yes you can!" However, I believe "I can't" is an empowering phrase. When I work with my life coaching clients and with the athletes I train, I like to tell them, "you can't... now."

An aspiring athlete might say "I can't run a mile." I am not going to say "Yes you can!" if they truly cannot run a mile. Instead, I say, "You can't run a mile now, but you can run 3/4 of a mile." Let's focus on the achievement of 3/4 mile. It's something. It's not zero miles. You can run, and you can run more than half a mile. There are a lot of cans in that statement, and even if they don't measure up to the perfection you seek, there is progress there.

Acknowledge your progress, even if it doesn't meet your ultimate goal... yet.

Impatience is just youthful inexperience. We want to be able to do everything perfectly right now, which creates a lot of "I can't" statements. Focus on what you can do, and work on it. Someday, you'll be able to say "I can" to the goals you've been working on.