Lately it seems as though many people are getting confused about the difference between can and will. A recent blog by Seth Godin seemed to agree and illustrated that the gap between these two terms is growing as well. To start with the basics, CAN is the ability to do a desired task, be it walking to work, stretching, meditating, breathing deeply, eating real food or turning up to get adjusted. WILL in turn is putting yourself in control of the situation and owning the fact that you will walk to work, you will stretch, you will turn up for your appointments, etc. When you take individual control of the situation you’re in, you are therefore 100% responsible for the outcome and as such your decision to do something is just that- it is your decision.
The fact that WILL comes with personal ownership is why I think many people often opt for Can’t instead of Won’t. They refuse to take control of the fact that they are where they are as a result of their choices and actions. It becomes quite common then for people to say “I Can’t” basically saying that they have no power to change the situation and that it is completely not their fault. However, I believe that personal ownership goes a long way. Yes, I know that bad things can happen and they can absolutely force us into a position of being unable to do something however, the vast majority of time what we are really saying is “I Won’t.” It is very similar to saying- I just don’t want to, but by using the word Can’t we void ourselves of responsibility and this gives us an easy option for not getting said task done.
It is 2016 and we are almost a third of the way through the year already. There is plenty of time to make something awesome happen. However, nothing will change if we continually sit on the sidelines and blame others or the world for the situation we are in. This year you know that you CAN do it so take ownership and say that you WILL! The world is your oyster as long as you know that it is your world to create…..