Learn why it’s important to not limit yourself in what you can do.

I remember a day when a friend told me that she had Breast Cancer and how she had to change her diet and lifestyle.  I remember saying to her, “I could never do that”, I love my lattes, butter, muffins and hamburgers far too much.

Then I learned that I had a little tumor in my breast and I heard the scary words, breast cancer.  Guess what, it turns out that I CAN DO THAT!

I no longer eat any animal protein, including dairy, I do not eat any processed foods, nor do I eat carbs or sugar. While it has been, at times, a challenge to find foods that are good for me, especially when I travel, I have been able to experience a pretty high level of success in my eating habits.

Now guess what I hear all the time? I could never do that! When we are motivated beyond our own self-indulgence we can do most anything.  I remember saying, “I could never do a marathon”, until I did a few marathons.  I could never stand in front of a group of people and speak, until I did.

I cannot tell you how many times I hear the words, I could never do that. My brother has type 2 diabetes, he asked what I was doing and I shared with him my diet and health plan.  He said, “I could never give up my meat or desserts”.  When I shared with a friend how I went from a size 12/14 to a size 6/8 her response, as she was eating a blueberry bagel and cheese, “I could never do that”.

I have invited many people to come to a BNI Meeting and I alert them that they will have the opportunity to stand up and speak to 30-40 members in the room and often the response is, “I could never do that”.

I went sky diving with a friend over a small island it was the first time for both of us and it was an amazing experience. But when I tell other friends about how amazing it was they say, “I could never do that”.

People ask me how long it takes to fly to Perth, Australia and I do it twice a year, I tell them the longest part is LAX to Sydney which takes about 14 hours, but it is so worth it, they say, “I could never do that”.

So, let me ask you, where in your life do you say, “I could never do that”? Why would you put this kind of limitation on your life?

Learn To Choose

The truth of the matter is, you could do it, just as I have but you choose not to do it. Our lives are based on choice, my bother could give up that which is killing him, but he has chosen not to, my friend could indeed give up her carbs and sugar for a healthier weight, she has just chosen not to.

Anything I have done, any living person could do, if they wanted to. I never said that it was easy, or not scary, of course giving up some of the things that I thought I loved too much to give up was not easy, I love cakes, cookies, steaks, ribs and hamburgers. But I love my life, I want to live to 120 while the life expectancy for average Americans   (https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/22/us-life-expectancy-is-low-and-is-now-projected-to-be-on-par-with-mexico-by-2030.html) is falling, I choose to be the exception to that rule! To do that I must mind my health, as my dark messenger has clearly brought to my attention.  I realize that I can do that, in fact I can do anything that I choose, I have no limits.

So, the next time you say, “I could never do that”, stop and ask yourself, why?  Is it really that you can’t do it, or that you choose not to do it? You will find that 99.9% of the time it is a choice you make for yourself, flip the word from “I could never do that” to “I would never do that”, then go to the inquiry. Ask yourself, why would I never do that?  Take out your journal and inquire, you will be surprised how much you are holding yourself back.