A few years ago I took up bicycling and over the past two years I’ve repeatedly said, “I’m not good at hills” or “hills aren’t my strong suit” or “I can’t do hills very well.” All just synonyms for I won’t. Recently I conquered what I considered my climbing hill deficit. When someone asked me how I did it, I realized I simply changed my mental approach to climbing hills. I prepared and studies methods to improve. I physically challenged myself. But ultimately I stopped placing “I can’t” in front of “do hills.” And now, only a year later, I find that not only can I climb hills, but I’ve nearly doubled my pace and I don’t look like I’m about to go into cardiac arrest doing it.
The climbing the hill metaphor is not lost on me. As I literally climbed the hill, I also rose up the proverbial one as well. And it hit me how many times I use “I can’t” to get out of what I really don’t want to do or to avoid a situation that would put me face to face with Freddy Kruger in my mind. The idea that if I were to achieve success, it would mean I’d have to face the Nightmare on Elm Street demon before I do.
The truth is that we create our own demons. We imagine the worst, before putting our best foot forward. Perhaps if we started with the best foot forward, we’d find those monsters in our mind would vanish before they appeared. And perhaps, rather than wasting time convincing ourselves and others we simply “can’t” we’d be pleasantly surprised that focusing our energies on a hearty “Yes, I can” would take us directly to where we want to go.
Cup of J 