I CAN. I WILL. I AM.

I love short pithy sayings that can quickly grab hold of a negative thought by the scruff of the neck and lead it back to the fold. This saying, “I can. I will. I am,” is one of them. I say it when I discover my mind is babbling to itself again, saying something like, “I can’t do this. It’s too hard...I won’t follow through with this, remember last time, Jer?...I am not the right person for this. I don’t have what it takes.” I like to say it when I’m feeling fearful or tentative or doubtful about being able to accomplish something important to me. For that matter, I like to say it whenever my mind is loitering on the sucking edge of a number of mental black holes it frequents.

Why do I do this?

In early February of this year, after the entourage of new year’s resolutions had resumed their annual hibernation, a sign outside a bar caught my eye. It said, “Brand new year...Same old you. We have a beer for that.” While I didn’t take the bait and I don’t adhere to that particular marketing strategy, I must admit I can relate to the feeling. And when I become conscious of it, that’s the precise moment when I repeat this saying, “I can. I will. I am.” For me, it can have a surprisingly cathartic and empowering effect. Let’s face it, we all have scripts scampering back and forth between our ears all day--and all night--long. Some are good. Some are bad. Some are ugly. This is one way I tame mine.

Sometimes it surprises me (more honestly...my ego) that I have to dumb myself down to such a grade-school level in order to get over, around or through some bowel obstruction of the brain I've created. But truth be told, I do. In fact, sometimes I have to repeat it many times over (good)--sometimes aloud (better)...sometimes shouting it (best). Of course, I have to be alone to get myself worked up enough to do this last one. What can I say? I’m a Norwegian introvert of farmer ancestry.

Seriously, it shifts my brain’s trajectory. It returns my thoughts to their normal and natural path of wellbeing after my mental train has jumped its track. It works...and does so surprisingly quickly. And as if this weren't enough, occasionally I’ll realize that my mind has been saying this to itself without my conscious effort. Eureka! In that moment I’ve rescripted my brain. That’s something almost impossible to do for two reasons: One, we don’t realize we actually can do it. And two, we don’t realize just how easily it can be done.

This particular mantra is one of many I like. Sometimes, as in this case, I’ll custom tailor one to suit my own idiosyncratic self. Sometimes, I’ll choose one that I’ve heard or read somewhere--like another of my favorites: “Never let what you can’t do keep you from doing what you can.” (This one is particularly clarifying and freeing when many of us are sheltering in place and all of us are experiencing restrictions of some kind. Under such conditions it’s somewhat natural but certainly unfruitful to laser-focus on the relatively few things we can’t do compared with the truly infinite number of things we can.)

Right now, as we live in this surreal moment brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s a good time to practice saying these revitalizing words--or some of your own choosing--to ourselves, about ourselves and most importantly, for ourselves--though ultimately, I believe, it’s the world that will benefit the most. (Just ask your closest and most candid loved ones which "you" they prefer!) To me, doing so is of paramount importance if we want to get beyond our own seemingly intransigent stumbling blocks--the ones that are keeping us from being the joyful, creative and generous humans that, beneath all the folderol, we truly are.

Our positive and loving self talk soothes, calms and inspires us. It hugs us. It kisses us. It opens our spirits up, softens our edges, and expands our compassion for all that exists. Is there anything your loved ones, your neighbors or our beautiful world--the one that is throbbing in pain right now--needs more than this? It'll may take some mental training, but this I know: It works...and it will go to work for us if we practice it long enough to let its incredible potential sink into our psyches. For me personally, “I can. I will. I am.” is an all-purpose affirmation and a powerful motivator that gets me--and keep me--doing the things that I believe are of paramount importance. I trust it will do the same for you.

TODAY. DO YOURSELF AND THE WORLD A FAVOR.
TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW YOU THINK