Can't

By James Levin | Feb 8, 2020 | Blog | https://jobsearchtherapy.com/cant/

Can’t……Has to be one of the BIGGEST words out there. A close cousin to ‘if’. If this and if that – A meaningless way to preface anything. Just do it. 

So when my kids said, “I can’t”, my response was always “why not” or “did you try?  Either way, my attitude was to instill in them, a belief that they CAN. I wanted them and I plant this seed in my client’s head also, to at the very least, give it a try. What have you got to lose? Nothing. You can learn a great deal from trying and that take away has its rewards also. When you try something and find success, you increase your self-confidence and when you fail as a result of trying, you LEARN. I often tell my clients, “I am not interested in the reasons why you CAN’T do something – I am interested in the one reason why you CAN do something”. That’s where your substance is. Can you push yourself out of your comfort zone, take a leap of faith and just go for it? CAN takes courage. Can’t is a bad excuse for lack of determination. Be fearless when you are confronted with something that has you off balance. Take a deep breath, collect your thoughts and push yourself to TRY. 

Try and fail should be a good experience for you. There is no shame in giving your best effort, your best attempt at something and coming up short. Nobody wants the ‘short end’, but that is part of life. My training is to accept that loss as, not failure, but success. It is a wonderful accomplishment to try and walk away knowing you did give it your best. That can be very empowering and liberating. That in of itself is an accomplishment. Learning from experience is always a victory. ‘Can’t’ prohibits any forward movement. In fact it promotes moving backwards. Don’t be paralyzed by CAN’T. Can is always a win.