Yes You Can: Here's Proof
Balancing a workout ball with my feet while I held my body up in a plank position, I pushed myself down, then back up. While still in the plank position, I then used my feet, which were still balancing the ball, to pull my knees into my chest, then to push the ball back to the starting position.
As I worked through that motion for several repetitions, a thought hit me. There was a time that I could barely do a push-up from my knees, but there I was doing push-ups while my feet were suspended on a ball. That thought set off another thought. This time it was a question. “How did I go from I CAN'T do a push up to save my life to oh wow look at me I CAN do push ups?”
The I can Framework in Action
When my workout concluded, I created a video to share this moment of revelation of how to move from “I can’t” to “I can.” What is cool about the video is that I demonstrate what it looked like when I was in a state of “I can't” in comparison to the state of “I can.” In this blog post I have shared that video. I have been told that the video is a motivational piece. Be sure to check it out.
No worries if you cannot check out the video right away. This blog post will highlight the keys to the video message.
What Lies Between I can't & I can?
Take this time to think of something in your life that you are or have been saying “I can't” to. It can be anything. It does not have to be limited to a workout exercise. I reference as much in the video (even though I said faucet instead of facet). The use of an exercise is to help make my point.
I share with you what lies between”I can't” to “I can”. I like to think of it as an “I can” framework. That is, in every area of your life, you can go from “I can't” to “I can” by using the framework that I discuss in the video. The framework comes down to the three C’s between can't and can: commitment, consistency, and comfort.
Breaking Down the 3 Cs I Can Framework
Commitment: noun; the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc. When something seems challenging or beyond the scope of our imagination, we can do what is easy (i.e. nothing) or stop before we give ourselves a chance to see what is possible. We also call that quitting. To be committed is to put it in your mind that no matter how much you are struggling, no matter how challenging what you are doing is, or no matter how afraid you are, you will stay the course.
I was committed to being fit and healthier. The end result is that I can be challenged further because I got stronger and better. This is the benefit of commitment.
Consistency: noun; steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, etc. Commitment and consistency work hand-in-hand. Generally, if you are committed, you will be consistent.
As of the writing of this blog post, I have been working out five to six times a week for 15 months. Being consistent with my workouts and being willing to be challenged has meant to world to mind and body transformation. I mention my mind because it is our thoughts that can keep us from our greatest potential. My workouts have taught me that whenever my head tries to tell me I can't do, I can do in spite of what it says as long as I remain consistent.
Consistency to me also means to consistently try. Never give up before you ever give yourself a chance.
Comfort: noun; the easing or alleviation of a person's feelings of grief or distress. With each workout that I have gone through with my personal trainer or on my own, I was pushed outside of my comfort zone. Had I not been, I would have never progressed from believing that could not do a push up to the level of push up I did in the video.
If there is anything that this particular workout and many others have taught me, it is that if you expect to gain anything or transform your life, you must do it by moving outside of your comfort zone.
You Can Move from I Can't to I Can
To start this post I gave you a visual (I hope) of me doing an exercise that I would not have been able to do at one point. Not only would I have not been able to do it, but I also would not have believed I could do it. Now that I am applying this three Cs framework, or philosophy, to my life I can go into the unfamiliar, into what scares me and what causes me self-doubt with the sense that I will overcome such limiting beliefs. I believe when you apply the same framework to your life, the same assurances will be possible for you too.
Start the Discussion: To what will you apply the framework of moving from your “I can't” to your “I can” in your life? Share in the post comments, on Facebook or Twitter.