You Can't Do That

The Roman Rule: The one who says it cannot be done should never interrupt the one who is doing.

Whether it's another or ourselves, inevitably, some voice tells us we can't accomplish or attain something. Someone tells us it can't be done, we believe them, and never so much as even attempt to do it. Sometimes, this humorously happens while we're doing it.

There are also times we listen to those we respect rather than ourselves. Long ago, I listened to the advice of someone looking out for my best interest. I was much younger then, so believed what I heard without question. Granted, to question the path I traveled because I heeded his advice would be like fabled "sour apples," but there was an important element that didn't dawn in my consciousness until years later when I listened to this person talk about a mutual acquaintance who'd made a decision to let his professional license expire. The acquaintance was third in command at a major corporation, doing work he loved, and being well compensated for it. The advisor said, "I wish he wouldn't let his license lapse. If this job doesn't pan out for him, he'll need something to fall back on."

That one statement flashed me back to our conversation when he'd advised me on selecting my college major: "Very few people succeed at what you want to do. It would be wise for you to make your major XYZ so you have something to fall back on." I'd believed my advisor had given me practical advice based on life experience. The reality was, he'd given it to me based on his own fears. I'd actually made a life-altering decision because another feared what I wanted to do couldn't be done. A pivotal moment for me, to say the least.

We're just starting a new year. Is there something you want to do or always wanted to do? It doesn't need to be grand, just important to you. If you need a more powerful example than the one I offered above, consider that some paraplegics are told they'll never regain the use of their limbs, never walk again; but, they prove others wrong. Some told they have an approximate time to live before their diagnosed disease ends their life make a life-altering decision and not only find the disease leaves their body, but then create the fulfilling life experience they'd always wanted. Our world and history are filled with things that someone said couldn't be done.

What do you want to do? Do you want it enough that you're willing to do whatever it takes? Are you willing, when someone tells you it can't be done even if you're currently doing it, to say, "Maybe," and keep going? If you change your mind, that's one thing; but don't do so because of what someone else believes. As a friend once said to me, "I don't wonder IF something can be done, I ask myself how I can make it happen.

I wish all of us a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2007.