There is No Such Word as "Can't"
“grayscale photo of woman doing silent hand sign” by Kristina Flour on Unsplash This word is verboten in the household. Although the kids have used the word in our house, they know that they are not allowed to say it. There is no such thing as “ can’t ” or cannot , as in “I am unable to do this” or “it can’t be done” — umm, no. Wrong answer. Can’t should not be a part of your vernacular either. Or better yet, can’t can’t be a part of your normal conversations! Even my peers at work know my response, my visceral reaction, to that word when it is brought up in a conversation. It is an easy escape from the hard work . Can’t should be replaced with something more active. Can you imagine a better, more positive response to that phrase? Can if ? Instead of “we can’t do it unless we have more people” change it to “we can if we have more time.” By immediately defining the negative of the situation, the psychology of that effort dwindles — the defeatist mentality begins to ...