My Perspective #72: “Can’t Never Could.” Let me explain.

Growing up I would whine to my parents’ directives or suggestions (no matter how reasonable they were), with an exasperated declaration: “I can’t do that.” Without any protesting outbursts, but also without losing resolve in their expectation of me, my parents would remind me that “Can’t never could do anything.”  

Whatever THAT meant. 

I would dismiss that as some old-person saying similar to “back in my day we would walk uphill both ways in the winter.”

Cue my know-it-all eyeroll.

Okay, so, fast forward to present day. 

To my parents, I would like to take this moment to humbly tell you that you were right and so wise. 

Not only is it that Can’t never could do anything, Can’t never would do anything, Can’t never even considered it and ultimately Can’t never experienced anything new or exciting. 

Frankly, Can’t stayed bored, boring, idle and dull.

I’ve determined that adopting the knee-jerk reaction to opportunities (or even problems, for that matter), with a can’t attitude, sets the tone and trajectory for many things to experience – from the good or bad to the interesting to even the mundane. 

The end-result of doing something isn’t the point. Doing it is the point.

If you’ve automatically subscribed to the notions that you aren’t able or can’t do something even before attempting it, you’ve adopted a very destructive mindset towards your individual growth and improvement. 

At this point, it may be foreign for some of you to tell yourself that you can do something because it’s just become easier to say you can’t. Until you have the facts to prove otherwise, you need to abandon the can’t attitude entirely and, at a minimum, adopt an I’ll try attitude. 

Now, not every outcome to doing things (because you “can”) will result in life-changing moments. However, every outcome to not doing things (because you “can’t”) will result in life-stagnating moments. See that?

So, let’s change the narrative from “Can’t Never Could” to “Can Actually Could” (or at least “Can Actually Tried”)

You have no idea what you’re capable of. I encourage you to find out even if the sole reason is to avoid being bored, boring, idle and dull.

Now, get up and get at it!

Read the Ethos of The Arena Disciplina 

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