We’ve all done it. If you say you haven’t, you’re a liar, and therefore, you probably do it more than most people. We’re guilty of saying something can’t be done or that something is impossible. We’ve all been the Debbie Downer arguing something won’t work under the guise of being realistic. We do this all too often, but the truth is, we’re being victimized by our limitations and putting it on everyone else.
Watch this:
Imagine some guy, cause in the 1950’s it would have been a “guy” sitting around saying, we can’t do this in less than 1 minute. I can already picture him arguing that it “can’t” be done. And from his perspective, he’s right.
That’s the problem with people; we lack the vision, the creativity and the confidence to think big and see bigger. We operate from our current worldview, using the realism argument as support for defeatist arguments that say, “It can’t be done!”
Imagine trying to tell the naysayer who said it couldn’t be done in less than 60 seconds, that it could be done in 5 seconds. I can see his head exploding with rage, and frustration, accusing anyone with the audacity of believing that of being idiots and living in a dream world. He’s telling everyone why it can’t be done and why they are wrong, and he can prove it.
Here’s what’s wrong with that approach. We prove what we set out to prove. If the questions are why can’t it be done, that’s the answer your going to get. However, if the question is, how can we do it, the answer changes.
I get it; we’ve all been guilty of this mindset. We’ve all taken the position that it can’t be done, but it has to stop. It’s time to ask the question differently. We need to stop asking the question why can’t we and only answer the question, how can we.
Muhammad Ali said it best:
“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
Don’t be the guy who fights everything, the one using reason as an excuse not to think, not to push the limits, not to strive for more. Don’t ask why not and start asking how. It makes all the difference. Ask any pitstop crew.
The only thing that is impossible is what our minds tell us is impossible.