How can such a simple word hold so much power over a person? These four letters and an apostrophe can break a person’s will in an instant. I lived my life by the code: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me”. Well I found out words are as lethal as rocks and sticks. For a grueling fifteen seconds that seemed like an eternity last night, I had an epic battle with the world CAN’T.
I was exhausted from the long day I had just been through. Starting my first job seemed like it sucked all the energy out of me. While that voice in my head was telling me to just to pack it in for the day, I silenced it by blasting Eminem through my headphones and running on my treadmill.
After my runs, I always do sit-ups and pushups. Every week, I try to increase my sets by five reps. So this night, I was going to do fifteen pushups for four sets instead of ten reps. I pushed through the first two sets easy. However, as I was halfway through my third set, something happened. My arms started to get weak, doing the wobbles like an earthquake was shaking them. I no longer felt the rush of a pump, but instead tiredness. And one word flashed in my head: CAN’T!
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This is hard, I can’t do another one. I can’t push myself back up. I held myself in the air for fifteen seconds as these negative ideas popped in my head. This one annoying word is going to stop me from reaching my goals. This isn’t the first time I’ve said it. All the other times popped in my head like a slideshow. I can’t finish my homework, I can’t beat this video game, even I can’t finish this cheeseburger. As I was ready to let my body plop on the ground, something inside me screamed : I CAN.
And my arms pushed myself back up with this new rush of energy. I finished my workout, and didn’t let those four words get the best of me. As I lay in my bed, new chants were echoing in my ears. I can do another pushup, I can get back in shape, I can do whatever I want with my life. I learned something before I fell asleep last night. Can’t is a strong word, but I CAN is an even more powerful phrase.
A Regular Cup of Joe 
yes you CAN!!!!
Yes, I CAN and ANYONE CAN! Thanks for all the love and support lately. We all need to push ourselves and others to be stop saying I can’t and instead shouting WE CAN!
Amen we all must support each other…
Come on !
I can or come on. Whatever gets you to push yourself through your journey’s obstacles should be your mantra.
You right, the only important thing is the will to do it.
Exactly! If we believe we can, our will CAN make it happen.
My trainer has “I Don’t Want to Hear Can’t” written on the wall in her gym. I learned early on to not utter that, it’s amazing how self-defeating that simple word is, because we all CAN!
That’s a great attitude and so true. Your trainer is smart because if you see it everyday, you will believe it. No one should ever doubt themselves, because anyone CAN make their dreams possible. Thanks for reading and best of wishes 🙂
Bravo!
Thank you for reading and you kind words 🙂
This post is totally AWESOME!!! This little word is one that we too are working towards erasing from our vocab… Thanks for this jolt of encouragement…
You’re welcome and thanks for your words of encouragement and stopping by. If we all erase CAN’T from our vocabulary, our potential is endless.
You are so right!
Thank you 🙂 We all CAN!
You are so right about that popular phrase, “Sticks and stones…” It sounds good, but it is not true. We can heal from physical wounds, sometimes much faster than psychological wounds created by negative words. Thanks for this encouraging post.
I’m glad I shed some encouragement on other people. Always believe You CAN and you will accomplish anything 🙂
Just to add my tuppence-worth: while I was doing the Plyometric Cardio workout today, when I felt myself dropping out I mantra’d “I can, I can, I can” through each rep, thinking of this post. As a result I managed far more than I did last time I did this workout. Thank you for the motivation-boost.
You’re welcome. It means a lot to me that my post helped you through your workout. Just keep say You CAN and you will reach your goals. Thank you for your feedback, I really do appreciate it 🙂