How to Turn “I Can’t” Into “I Can”

So often the only thing stopping us from achieving a goal? Ourselves. We tell ourselves that we can’t do something or that we are not good at something simply because we’re not used to doing it or because we have never tried it.

For instance, for years I’ve been telling everyone—including myself—that I am not a morning person. I don’t even know my name in the morning. I’m a night owl. I don’t function before noon. Mornings are not in my genetic code.

I’ve organized my life around this belief. If I need to do something that requires a lot of creative thought? I schedule it in the afternoon or evening.

Last week, however, I was scheduled to do a series of radio interviews to promote my book Perseverance. Of course, I would have liked to have done the interviews in the afternoon or evening, but I didn’t have a choice. These were drive time shows. Either I did the interviews early in the morning or I lost my opportunity to do them altogether.

I firmly told myself, “I can do this.” I didn’t let myself believe otherwise.

The night before my first interview, the power went out. My alarm didn’t go off. Two minutes before the scheduled interview, I just happened to wake, look at my watch, and see the time. I got out of bed and on the phone. I did the interview on autopilot, and I pulled it off.

Not only could I function in the morning, I could do it without the use of caffeine and even without any preparation. Just think of how much better I could be in the morning if I had time to prepare!

So on the rest of my interview mornings, I did just that. I got out of bed at least 30 minutes before the first interview, so I had time to have breakfast and coffee and review my notes. By the end of the week, I was wondering if there was anything I couldn’t do in the morning.

The experience taught me these lessons about turning “I Can’t” into “I Can.”

Believe in yourself. Don’t give yourself any other option. If other people can do it, so can you.

Find ways to ease yourself into it. For instance, I got up earlier than needed so I could prepare. What can you do to make this unfamiliar experience feel more familiar?

Give yourself a check mark. I created check boxes on a piece of paper. I checked off a box each time I successfully completed a morning interview. Then, before upcoming interviews, I looked at my checked boxes and said to myself, “I did this before, and I can do this again.”

How do you turn the feeling of “I Can’t” into “I Can?”

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 at 6:19 pm and is filed under Goals & Productivity, Perseverance, Personal, Tips + Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “How to Turn “I Can’t” Into “I Can””

1. Judi MacLellan says:

   09.01.2009 at 7:43 pm

   Thanks Carolyn. God is using you in a mighty way to bless many people, myself included. Thank you for the encouragement and showing me that I too can be an overcomer and DO mornings. Blessings, judi your facebook friend

   Reply
2. Michelle | When I Grow Up Coach
   Twitter: WhenIGroUpCoach
   says:

   09.01.2009 at 11:10 pm

   Carolyn, I SWEAR we are twins! I posted something similar about a year or two ago, when I was “trying” to become a morning person. To do it, I scheduled myself a 7a client every week for 3 months. She lived in Japan, & it was the only way to work with her. It was winter, it was dark, it was cold – but I did it! Not only did I get out of bed an hour before the call (because I only had 30 min to get ready & go to work when the call was done), but I was the same kick-ass coach I always was (I figured I was going to be a sleeping coach)! It didn’t make me into a morning person, & Luke still has to get me out of bed before noon on Saturdays, but I proved to myself that I AM a morning person. When I need to be :)

   Reply
3. Cheryl says:

   09.02.2009 at 11:25 am

   I love this post. And the timing of it is so uncanny for me, as I also blogged this morning about becoming a morning person after years of pretending that mornings don’t exist. :) I’m beginning to realize that I can be creative and productive any time of day, as long as I put my mind to it. Thanks for the continued inspiration!

   Reply
4. Swirly says:

   09.03.2009 at 10:42 am

   Repetition!! Saying it over and over again. :)

   Reply