Can’t

Every once in a while, we come across an opportunity to venture into the unknown. Now, every one of us has some sort of adventurous spirit within them, no matter how small. This morning‘s adventure brought me to Ginnie Springs – underwater caves that were beckoning my name.

I suited up, entered the water, checked my gear, and dove under. As I entered the cave, I turned on my dive light and slowly started to explore the cave with reckless abandon. As I explored the darkness, I began to think about how each stroke that I took was an into an undiscovered area of the cave. Each sight before me was new, unexplored territory.

How many times have we not recognize what is undiscovered within ourselves? We believe we can’t do something because we convince ourselves that we are incapable. But if we don’t try, we will never know what undiscovered talents we have.

A poem I recently discovered by Edward Guest comments on the dangers of the phrase “I can’t”. Specifically, focusing on the fact that “can’t” is what allows exploration to end. What if Eddison, Newton, Bell, Picasso, Beethoven, Jobs, musk, and Gates had settled? Where would this country be, where would exploration be, and where would art music be if they said “I can’t do this” and they gave up after the first try?

Sometimes I’m asked the question, “what is the worst thing in the world?” And although I’m tempted to say that the answer is evil or other horrible things, the answer that comes to me the most is wasted talent. People who felt like they didn’t have much to give, or they were too afraid to try, so they didn’t put themselves out there, are one of the worst tragedies in the world. That phrase “I can’t” prevents so many people from doing the audacious, radical things that end up changing the world. But in the words of Edward Guest, we answer the demon “I can’t” by saying instead, “I can”.