Don't Let What You Cannot Do Interfere With What You Can Do

It is amazing how quickly we can become distracted by the things we cannot do. We tell ourselves we aren't clever enough, confident enough, experienced enough or talented enough. We look at everything standing in our way and convince ourselves that there is little point trying. Yet while we are concentrating on our limitations, something rather important is happening: we are forgetting everything we are capable of doing.

Nobody can do everything. There will always be things beyond our ability, circumstances we cannot control and challenges that cannot be solved simply by wishing them away. But that doesn't mean we are powerless.

Positive thinking isn't about pretending that limitations don't exist. It is about refusing to give them more importance than they deserve. Instead of asking, "What can't I do?", ask a different question: “What can I do?” That small change can completely alter the way you approach a problem.

Perhaps you can't change the situation, but you can change how you respond to it. Perhaps you can't achieve everything today, but you can take one step forward. Perhaps you don't have all the skills you need, but you can learn them.

Progress rarely comes from having every answer before you begin. It comes from making the best use of what you have and building from there.

So stop measuring yourself against everything you cannot do. Look at what is within your reach. Look at your strengths, your experience, your determination and the opportunities in front of you.

Your limitations are only part of your story. Don't allow them to become the whole story.