{"id":7267,"date":"2016-03-10T02:00:59","date_gmt":"2016-03-10T08:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lovingonme.com\/?p=7267"},"modified":"2017-03-15T13:12:43","modified_gmt":"2017-03-15T18:12:43","slug":"cant-is-a-four-letter-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/2016\/03\/10\/cant-is-a-four-letter-word\/","title":{"rendered":"Can\u2019t is a Four-Letter Word"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I heard a quote recently that has completely transformed my thinking. I ponder on it each day and find ways to apply it constantly in my life, from the most mundane things to my big picture dreams. I have used it in mentoring meetings as a way to challenge others, and challenged myself with it when I have felt down.<\/p>\n

Are you ready for it?<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you only do what you can do, you will only be what you are now.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Please let that sink in and let\u2019s repeat it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you only do what you can <\/strong>do, you will only be what you are now<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

It hit me like a ton of bricks when I heard it. It\u2019s powerful. And, it\u2019s from a really profound source\u2026the movie Kung Fu Panda 3<\/em>. Ha! Yep, that\u2019s right. The THIRD<\/strong> movie in a kid\u2019s animated series. Look people, don\u2019t\u2019 judge me. I am doing the best I can to get wisdom from where I can get it with my circus of a life.<\/p>\n

But, I kid. I actually think there is much to learn from materials meant for kids. As we grow into adults, we think we are so wise. Ask any teenager. But the truth is, we are all little kids at heart struggling with the same emotions of fear, insecurity, worry, anger, jealousy and greed. It\u2019s why my mom gave me the book, All I Need to Know I Learned from a Little Golden Book, <\/em>for Christmas. I keep it on my nightstand. And, it\u2019s why so many adults are just as in love as kids with the new movie, Zootopia. <\/em><\/p>\n

In it, little Judy Bunny dreams she will be the first bunny police officer in an industry made up of only the strongest and biggest animals: the lions, bears, ox, elephants, etc. Everyone tells her she can\u2019t do it. Bunnies aren\u2019t police officers. Girls bunnies especially.<\/p>\n

But, Judy believes. She works hard. She doesn\u2019t take no for an answer. She proves them wrong. Judy knows,<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you only do what you can <\/strong>do, you will only be what you are now.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I won\u2019t spoil the entire movie, but I highly recommend it. It\u2019s empowering and inclusive and goes beyond Judy\u2019s story to remind us not to judge others lest we miss out on knowing and learning from some amazing animals (okay, people). It\u2019s probably my favorite animated film yet. Especially since every other one has some tragedy like parents dying or kids being left alone to fend for themselves in a jungle or wilderness or savannah. Not this one. After watching it, I walked out feeling like I could take on the world, and my kids heard one of the messages I most hope to instill in them: you can be whatever you want to be.<\/p>\n

And, I kept thinking of the same little quote:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you only do what you can <\/strong>do, you will only be what you are now.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

What is your little Judy bunny dream? Do you have the courage to voice your \u201cI can\u2019t\u201d out loud? Tired of\u00a0 ________ fill in the blank: feeling angry, being afraid to leave him, being afraid to stay, scared to start, scared to quit your job, scared to start over, nervous of failing, being worried about disappointing others, disappointing yourself. You get it.<\/p>\n

But, if you only stay angry or scared or worried or disappointed, you will only continue feeling that way. Never start that book, or make the leap and move to another city, or start training to be a runner, or start eating better, or start saving up, then you will only be that: non-author, hometown only, non-runner, unhealthy, debt laden person that you don\u2019t want to be. Instead, try doing what you think you can\u2019t. You don\u2019t have to have a Pulitzer to be an author. Write. Write an email, write a blog, or publish on a web site. Work at it. Start now. You don\u2019t have to win a race to be a runner. I am a runner and the only way I will win a race is if two turtles and a crawling baby are my competition.<\/p>\n

I know it\u2019s hard to be brave. To be bold. To be courageous. But, you can <\/strong>be. It only takes a smidge of it to start. You can be more than you are right now if you want to.<\/p>\n

If all you can hear in your life is \u201cyou can\u2019t\u201d then, let me be the one today to believe in you and tell you, \u201cYou can.\u201d You can do more than you think you can do<\/strong> and become more than you are now<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A dear friend of mine who has traveled through long roads, recently to emerge still as the amazing woman I have always known her to be, shared this today. I hope it inspires you to be all that you want to be and on your terms.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Friend, can\u2019t is a four-letter word. Do more than you think you can.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know it\u2019s hard to be brave. To be bold. To be courageous. But, you can be. It only takes a smidge of it to start. You can be more than you are right now if you want to.<\/p>\n

If all you can hear in your life is \u201cyou can\u2019t\u201d then, let me be the one today to believe in you and tell you, \u201cYou can.\u201d You can do more than you think you can do and become more than you are now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sharing_disabled":false,"switch_like_status":false,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[107,114917237],"tags":[36673,204997880,204997870,1547,204997883,11870,204997881,204997786,204997882,122792808,204997884,4908,198164],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Can.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4eAxC-1Td","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7267"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7267"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12240,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7267\/revisions\/12240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}