I’ve spent a large amount of time working with my clients to eradicate the things standing in the way on their road to growth and success. Many of those things are small, simple, easy to navigate past. However, many more of these roadblocks stem from one really big problem… the inability to believe in oneself accompanied by the overuse of a single, meaningless word: “Can’t”.
“Can’t” slithers its way between words of real hope and actual drive. It renders an entire mindset useless by validating the false idea that you’re incapable of growth. “Can’t” means that you’re unable to do something just because you’ve never done it before. “Can’t” means you aren’t capable of learning something just because you’ve never been educated on it. “Can’t” tells your brain that despite its full ability to do so, it can’t. How silly is that? Why would we willingly limit our potential? How can we reframe this total crock of crap?
Lets begin by understanding one thing first: this process can get long and repetitive. To remove “can’t”, a word we’ve conditioned our brains to use liberally regardless of our true capacities, we have to undo years and years of limiting beliefs and false narratives.
Step number one: challenge your thoughts. When you hear yourself think or say “can’t”, ask yourself why. If you’re having trouble coming up with a legitimate reason, “can’t” has no business being in your vocabulary. You CAN. Open up those doors for yourself, superstar.
It is also extremely important to take yourself seriously. When you take yourself, your ideas, and your thoughts seriously, you begin to believe in yourself. Your confidence skyrockets when you hold yourself to high standards and always expect the best out of your intentions & actions.
Another mega-effective practice that I’ve come to adore is positive affirmation. Starting your day telling yourself how awesome you are and listing out the incredible things that will happen to you that day is the perfect way to set yourself up for success. Say things like “I am powerful and can accomplish whatever I set my mind to”, “I am valuable in numerous ways”, “I am successful and will continue to scale that success”. How could you have a bad day after starting it by feeding your mind so much good?
A great way to erase “can’t” from your life is to get used to trying new things and familiarize yourself with risk-taking. Take advantage of your limitless, kickass self and try all of the things. Tackle any and all interests that pop into your head without fear of failure and learn things about yourself you could have never learned without taking the leap into unfamiliar territories.
Lastly, surround yourself with supportive people who celebrate you and help hold you up when you feel down. Your circle is meant to enhance your energy and replenish your mindset through comforting, introspective, and pleasurable social experiences. With this, you allow yourself substantial space for remarkable growth, a place where “can’t” thinking is a way of the past.
It can be so incredibly easy to stay stagnant. However, using “can’t” as a way to avoid facing the possibility of failure or as a limiting-crutch to lean on when you’re afraid of stepping outside of your comfort zone puts a ceiling on your power, your passions, and your capabilities. Its time to kick that shiz to the curb and lean into the undefined, unlimited, & inexhaustible human you are.
