Heard it all before. But here it is again, just in case you missed it the first hundred times.

If you believe you can’t, tell yourself you can’t, KNOW you can’t — you are right.

Nothing irks me more than the word CAN’T. It’s the worst conjunction in the English language.

The problem I have with the word isn’t just that, in most cases, it’s not true, but it’s self-prophetic. There is a subconscious reaction in the mind when you think or say you CAN’T do something. You are putting up a wall that becomes insurmountable and impossible to imagine overcoming. It shuts the possibilities down.

The reality is most things you CAN do. You just choose not to. CAN’T is you giving your power away. It makes you the victim to circumstance. When you tell yourself you CAN’T you give your power to the supposed impossible to strip you of the chance of CAN. If you don’t want to do something then own it. Say you don’t want to do it. Take responsibility for the choice.

It’s not easy and yet is just that simple. Think of the last thing you said you CAN’T do. Was the reality that you really couldn’t do it? Or was it that you really didn’t WANT to? Was it a choice not to? Then own it. Admit it. Even if you only admit it to yourself.

There isn’t much in this world we can truly NOT do. Want to travel the world? Sure, you have bills to pay and a job to go to and responsibilities to attend to. But if you truly, honestly wanted to travel the world you could do it. You could work it out that it was possible. I’m not saying it would be easy, but if it’s something you really, really wanted to do you COULD find a way. By saying you CAN’T travel now because of (name your excuse) you give power to those excuses. You become the victim of your refusal to acknowledge that you really don’t want to do the work to get what you want.

I’m not a brain surgeon. I am not ABLE to operate successfully on a person’s brain. That’s so very different than CAN’T. Why? Because I acknowledge that I don’t have the skills to do so. But if my passion, my desire, my drive was to be a brain surgeon then I would do what it takes to make that dream come true. It would take a lot of schooling, a lot of student loans, a lot of hard work and study. But if I wanted it bad enough CAN’T wouldn’t stop me.

We need to stop saying we CAN’T do things and replace the word CAN’T with a more truthful and honest statement of fact. Instead of saying CAN’T, say “I am not able to at this time.” It leaves the door open for the possibility. Even if you never take the steps to do whatever it is you’re not able to at this time, it doesn’t build the mental walls that the word CAN’T does. Instead of saying CAN’T, say “I don’t want to.” It’s more truthful and honest, and you are owning the decision.

There is nothing wrong with saying you aren’t able to do something, or don’t WANT to do something. The difference is that when you start replacing CAN’T with more truthful statements you find yourself being more truthful about other things. You stop the self-defeating, self-victimizing brainwashing that you have told yourself for many years. You start noticing there are more things you CAN do. That you want to do.

The impossible changes to I’m Possible. The CAN’T becomes CAN, if I want to. It removes the negative thought patterns we tell ourselves over and over again.

Try removing CAN’T from your vocabulary for just one day. Then just one week. Before you know it you won’t be using that horrible word and the world will open up with possibilities that you CAN do.

And that is a wonderful thing you CAN do for yourself, each and every day.