Day 26–30 Days — 30 Ways: Remove the word can’t from your vocabulary

The word can’t fills my head from day to night sometimes. The word can’t is a word that we hear from birth forward. Our parents said it, our teachers said it, our friends said it, and we are surrounded by it. Words that we hear over and over get stuck in our heads and it is our job to get those words out of our heads. Thoughts are more powerful than we may realize.

Some days, I wake up and feel that I can’t possibly get through the day. But every day I do get through the day. On those days especially, I have to remind myself that once I force myself to smile and tell myself that I can, that my day will get a lot better. The way we perceive the world around us is vital. Learning to control our thought process is the first step to altering our perception of reality in a positive way. The world is not and cannot be all light or all darkness. Everything is a paradox. We have an amazing power as human beings, we have the power to choose what we focus on. If we focus on and appreciate the good things we have, more good things will come our way.

Replace the word can’t with can. Create affirmations that are based in the present moment. If you are thinking to yourself, “I can’t stand another minute of …” change your thoughts. Say to yourself instead, “I appreciate…, or this time will pass and get better.” There are lots of ways to change your thinking patterns. When I am especially stuck on something negative, I take some time to journal about it. I write about it until the idea evacuates my head. If the thought lingers, I look back at my writing and create an affirmation. The short affirmation I write counters the negative idea in my mind. There are a lot of fun ways to write affirmations. I like to turn my affirmations into haiku. You may enjoy a non-structured affirmation, an affirmation stuck to your wall, or a super brief affirmation like I am healthy, or I am successful.

While you are busy replacing the word can’t with can, think of other repeating negative thoughts that you might have. The I should and shouldn'ts can be equally as damaging. The “this might happens” and the “what ifs” are also dangerous. When your life is transitioning, it is a challenge to avoid running through different scenarios of what could happen in your mind. Instead of thinking of the “what ifs” think of what you want to happen. Picture it and add it to your vision board or vision journal. Clear up the picture in your mind and focus on that instead of the “what ifs.”

We are bombarded daily by optimists, positivity preachers, and a million people that call themselves “gurus” and promise that your world will change based on the quality of your thoughts. I do believe that those people are right. If you are able to completely fix your thought process, your life will also change for the better. It is not something that happens overnight though. Additionally, our actions needs to match our thoughts process. So, if we find ourselves focusing on thinking positive all the time and then get frustrated because nothing is happening, we have to ask ourselves, “What am I doing to help myself reach my goal?” If we realize we are not doing anything, then we need to fix that and do something!

Best of luck on your journey to health, happiness, and success! Thank you kindly for reading.