When was the last time you told yourself ‘I CAN’?
When you face something challenging, your subconscious mind screams ‘I CAN’T’. Your negative mind chatter kicks in to protect you. We are built for survival, keeping safe and limiting risks. Over time, the constant replaying of these limiting thoughts creates a limiting belief within you. You believe it even when it is false.
Loving life has been my ‘thing’ since I was a child. I had this innate voice telling me ‘I CAN’, even when I knew it was risky or even dared to think ‘I CAN’T’. Take raising money for Biafra’s starving children when I was ten years old; I mentioned my intention to my mother only to be told, “NO, YOU CAN’T!” Guess what? I did; the equivalent to one week’s wages back in 1967.
I left school at 16, married at 17. Guess what? My mother tried her best to dissuade me from this decision, but in the end, I did. After 20 tumultuous years of living with abuse and four children later, I finally did something I never thought possible; I left. I finally listened to the ‘I CAN’ voice in my head. It could not have occurred at a worse time. I was in the final year of my teaching degree when I found myself homeless with four young children. I told myself ‘I CAN’T’ be a teacher, I’m worthless – another lie. Having a vision and a why was enough to tell me ‘I CAN’ do it, and the rest is history; in October 1996, I qualified with a B.Ed. (Hons) degree, despite my dark days.
Both heartache and joy occurred over the next few years. There were a few ‘I CAN’Ts’. Every time I went for promotion, I failed because I refused to believe in myself; another residue from the darkness of living with a narcissist. However, the universe always found a way of making sure I was all right, and I fell into a great position working within the field of Special Needs.
In 2004 my beloved father died. Devastated, but it was the beginning of a downward spiral, as the following year my mother died. Thinking ‘I CAN’T’ go on, because not only had I become an orphan, but my children had flown the nest. I was alone for the first time in my 46 years on this earth! Fortune smiled, and I met a wonderful man.
I moved everything from Scotland to England. Life took an upward turn. I taught, I grew spiritually, then I left teaching after 20 years and became a coach, helping woman turn their ‘I CAN’T’ into ‘I CAN’. It was not long before I became a published International Best-Selling Author, by encouraging other women to find their voice. During the pandemic, I opened my own publishing business, supporting women who say ‘I CAN’T’ write a book, to realise they ‘CAN’ write and publish a #1 Amazon Best-selling Book!
