I'm not good at anything. I just say "I can."

Look, I know I’m a little excessive when it comes to doing things. I know I do a lot. Like... a lot. Nevertheless, even if I did 80% less, I think this principle still applies. Hard.

People often see the multitude of things I do and say things like:

• “How on Earth do you have the time?”

• “How are you so good at so many things?”

• “What’s your secret?”

• “You’re so multi-talented!”

• “I don’t understand how one person can do so much.”

• “It’s so unfair that you have so much energy to juggle so much at once.”

It makes me cringe to write that out, because it feels a little ego-centric. I’m not tooting my own horn. I want to highlight something that’s actually pretty toxic to our potential.

You see, the thing is... I’m not superhuman (surprise!).

In fact, I think I’m pretty average on most fronts, except for one: The narrative I trained myself to believe.

Namely: “I can” (or, at the very least, “I can’t yet”).

The responses that I listed above are a little ironic, because it’s exactly those responses that stop people from doing the things they see me do. It comes from the narrative of “I couldn’t do that”, “I can’t”, and “I’m not good/talented/diligent enough.”

A Henry Ford quote captures this perfectly:

So, here are two insights I’ve had about limiting beliefs. And I hope that, by the end of this, you can begin to change the story you tell yourself about yourself — it literally takes zero effort to start doing. So… what are you waiting for?

Our beliefs are more limiting than our abilities

What stops me from being able to learn something new isn’t my skill level, but rather the thought I have just before trying.

The difference between “I can”, “I can’t yet”, and “I can’t” is unbelievable.

I don’t really know why I developed it, but I remember from a young age being a “yes”-person. Video editing? Sure! Tattooing? Sounds great. Cooking Thai food? Bring it on. Choir? Why not. Triathlons? I’ll do my best.

It’s not that I’m naturally gifted at all those things — I worked hard to get good at them — but what sets me apart from the next person across is the first 3-4 words I said after the opportunity presented myself.

Nay, not even the words I said; the words I thought. It can sometimes be a faint voice in the back of your mind, the little squeak that says “Oef, I don’t know, I’m not that good yet.”

You make time for things you really want

^ That’s a hard pill to swallow (trust me, I know...); but the sooner you do, the happier you’ll be.

The truth is: If you want something, you’ll make the time for it.

Think about eating, for example. If you’re hungry, or want to distract yourself from the work you have to do, you’ll go to the kitchen and get a snack.

Or, even messaging a friend: If you feel like reaching out, you will. And if you don’t, you’ll leave their message unread for days on end.

Humans don’t do things they don’t want to. And I’ll die on this hill. You might quip back with “I hate my job, but I do it anyway” — and to that I say: Yes, but you want financial freedom enough to make that work worth it. If there isn’t something you want behind the action, you will not do it.

So, if you often find yourself saying “I don’t have the time”, I challenge you: It’s not that you don’t have the time, it’s that you don’t make the time.

And now you have something tangible to work through. Why don’t you make the time? What’s more important? Do you even want this thing at all? Or it something you want to want?

Personally, I want to be someone who’s clued up on politics... but only because of the optics. I don’t actually have intrinsic desire to read the news every day. If I spend ages trying to build that habit, I’m not only moving further away from my authentic self, but I’m also spending time on something based on how it makes me look as opposed to how it makes me feel.

The only reason I do lots of things is because I enjoy lots of things. If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it! No one cares!

If you don’t make the time for something, it’s a good opportunity to take a hard look and ask yourself: “Do I really, genuinely want to do this? If so, what’s stopping me from making time?” (you might find that you’re spending that time on something else that you don’t actually want; if you cut that out, you can finally do the thing you truly want...)