I often wonder why we believe the voice that tells us “we can’t”? Why do we allow this voice to limit the way we experience life? What if I told you this voice is lying to us, and has been for most of our lives.
Years ago I was skiing in Colorado. As I walked to the chairlift I passed empty wheelchairs, crutches, even a few prosthetic legs with snow boots covering the artificial foot, and believe it or not, more than one cane for the visually impaired.
On the slopes you could hear a group of people hooting and hollering, laughing and skiing as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Even the blind skier and their guide were skiing at breakneck speeds.
As I rode the lift for another run, I thought about what transformation these skiers had experienced. I would imagine that at some point someone said to them they will never be able to do what was bringing them so much joy on that day.
At some point the words, “I can’t” must have come to mind, especially after crashing numerous times on their first day on the slopes. But from what I could see, those words were no longer in their vocabulary. They changed them to, “I can”.
Why is it we allow the slightest roadblock to stop us from following our dreams? Even if the dream is to plant a small window box garden. We come up with some lame excuse that keeps us away from success.
Do we give that voice of self-doubt that much power? Apparently we must because I know many people who have given up on things that once made them tremendously happy. How many dreams and goals have fallen by the wayside because we listened to that lying voice of self-doubt.
One thing I have learned from my own skiing career is that to crash is to learn. Sure I have heard the voice of self-doubt, but I have worked really hard to ignore it. I know that with each setback there will be something to learn. In other words, there is growth in failures.
Is it because we believe our self-doubt that we choose not to begin? Are we so afraid of failure or looking bad in the eyes of others we would rather remain on the couch, or the safety of our comfort zone? Do the words, “I can” scare us so much we decide to stay small?
If we accept that our self-doubt and its best friend negative self-talk are lying to us why do we give them so much power over our lives? What is the antidote to these negative voices? Nothing else but self-love. The eternal source of unconditional love found deep within each and every one of us.
Is it self-loving to pursue our dreams? Absolutely! When we truly love ourselves there is nothing in the way to limit our accomplishments. Why? Because the engine of our desire is powered by a never ending source of unconditional love. This love is always supportive, always kind, and always understanding. No matter if we fail or faceplant on the slopes we will be loved whatever the outcome.
The crazy thing is the reward for turning “I can’t” into “I can” is a never ending source of unconditional love coming from deep within our soul. What could be better than that? We love ourselves enough to take a risk, get out of our comfort zone, ignore the voices of our self-doubt and those who think we are irresponsible for following our dreams.
As we have seen throughout the course of life there is only one guarantee, no one gets off this planet alive. At some point we will run out of time. When that moment arrives will we be grateful we had the inner strength to transform “I can’t” into “I can”? Or will we be resentful we chose to listen to that weak insecure voice of self-doubt?
It is our self-love that will drive us to greatness. It may not be easy, we may fail, we may have to rest and regroup. But it is our love for ourselves that will keep us moving forward no matter what obstacles we face along the way.
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Do you have the self-love to change “I can’t” to “I can”? Let me know what you think. Leave a comment below. I’m always interested in hearing your point of view.
If you happen to be in Sierra Vista, AZ. on May 17th stop by the Alternative Arts Spiritual Healing Faire sponsored by Heartfelt Messages at the Ethel Berger Center 2950 E. Tacoma St. I’ll be there selling books and discussing all things spiritual. Stop by to say hello. From 10:00am-3:00pm
If you would like to follow me on Blue Sky Social here is the link,
https://bsky.app/profile/paul-hudon.bsky.social
Thank you for being a part of this wonderful adventure called life, I appreciate your company.
Peace and well-being, Paul
Copyright Paul Hudon 2025
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