I tore a page from a Town & Country magazine a few weeks back and I’ve been carrying it around with me ever since.
It wasn’t colorful or clever or cute. It was a simple one-page ad, on a mostly white background, for Outward Bound. I can’t help but wonder how many times I’ve overlooked it in previous issues as I hurriedly flipped from one slick photo to the next interesting article, approving and disapproving of people I don’t know and lifestyles I can’t fathom.
But this time the message beckoned to me like a whisper of encouragement. And as I’ve reread it during the past few weeks, the hint of a suggestion has transformed into a shout of declaration:
A Farewell to CAN’T
This goodbye does not make me sad. I will not miss you.
I have discovered what it feels like to do the unthinkable.
The hard. The long. The challenging.
You have no business here anymore.
From now on, difficult will seem doable.
I will see the impossible as simply not-yet-conquered.
Farewell, Can’t. You will haunt me never again.
Hello, Can.
Welcome to my world.
Regardless of what person or circumstance or decision you’re facing, I encourage you to say your own farewell to Can’t, and a warm welcome to Can.
As Michael Jordan said, “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”
Whatever you are, bid farewell to Can’t,
Deanna
I love this quote. It’s from the founder of Outward Bound, Kurt Hahn.