The saying is “you can do anything you put your mind to”.
And, the answer is yes you can.
Because your mind is what makes it possible!
Except, depending on the influences of your conditioning (eg. socially, culturally, familially), your mind might not hold enough (or any!) belief that this saying can actually be true.
On one end of the spectrum, you might think the saying is hopeful and empowering.
On the other end of the spectrum, you might think the saying is completely unbelievable and just another ‘stupid quote’.
Or, you might be somewhere in between.
Regardless of where you find yourself on the spectrum, you’re neither right nor wrong.
It’s simply worth noting where you are because that’s what will help you navigate your sails in the direction you ultimately want to go.
At the beginning of the year, I decided that I was going to start these weekly Bold Letters as a way to share some of my inner learnings and wisdoms with you for your mindset, business, and life.
But, what most people don’t know is how I’ve struggled with writing.
While I’m still deepening my belief as a writer, it still blows my mind when someone describes my writing as “eloquent”, that I have “a way with words”, or that I can “articulate” myself well because I have so much past evidence that the opposite is true.
You see, back in high school, I applied for Honors and Advanced Placement English each year since I was an incoming freshman.
And, each year, I was denied.
Since my writing assignments always came back with red marks and paragraphs of corrections annotated on the side, I firmly believed my writing wasn’t Honors or AP worthy.
So, the rejections for AP and Honors never came as a surprise to me.
If anything, it reaffirmed something that I already knew: “I’m not a good writer.”
But, each year, I continued to apply.
Applying (yet, again) going into my senior year, I was so excited to find out I had FINALLY been accepted—I was finally IN!
Within two weeks of starting my senior year and being in that class, I was facing the harsh difficulty of being in a class I knew was ‘out of my league’.
I thought, “if I don’t understand the assignments being given at the beginning of the school year, how the heck was I going to make it the entire year?”
I was too ashamed to ask anyone in my class for help because for sure I’d be questioned on how I got into honors in the first place!
After analyzing my situation, I decided that getting a ‘D’ or lower in an Honors class wasn’t worth putting in the effort and that if I was in a regular English class, I could at least get a ‘C’ which meant I didn’t have to take it again.
So, I went to my counselors office and dropped my Honors English class.
The class I fought so hard to get into for FOUR years, dropped, all so I could go back to struggling in a regular English class where I was comfortable.
Fast forward nearly 25 years later, I can safely look back on that experience and say discomfort was ready to meet me regardless.
But, I didn’t yet know that my mind could make it possible.
I didn’t know that my thoughts were enough to direct my sails.
I didn’t know I could develop the skills to create safety within myself to move through discomfort when it shows up.
I didn’t know there was discomfort both ways and that I might as well have it while doing the thing I wanted.
I only knew what I thought was true and adjusted my circumstances accordingly because that’s what was modeled around me.
But, the beautiful thing is I needed that to happen so I could be the writer I am today.
Yes, I have evidence for “I’m not a good writer” and it still surfaces regularly even now.
But, had I not started there, I never would have built evidence for me to be:
an “eloquent” writer
a writer who has “a way with words”
a writer who can “articulate” well
I share this humbly because you also have evidence of something that feels incredibly true, but isn’t.
Whatever your version of “I’m not a good X” is, I want to offer you to call BS on it and find evidence for the opposite being true.
I couldn’t do that for myself back then, but I can now.
And, I’m here to do it for you because everyone deserves to be believed in.
Because you can do anything you put your mind to!
You have things you want to do with your time here and you can’t do them when you’re trapped in the “I’m not good” narrative.
So, let’s not spend any time there, okay? 😘
Sending only love.
Boldly,
Lynne xo