All too often, we focus on the things we can’t do instead of asking ourselves what we want to do.

Many of us have things that we want to do, but we’re too scared to actually do them.

Maybe we’re too scared to speak up or too scared to do something new and different for ourselves.

But when we push past that fear and do the things we really want to do, we may be pleasantly surprised with what we discover on the other side of that fear.

And that is when the greatest growth happens.

The truth is, we will never know what the world holds for us if we’re constantly saying, “I can’t.”

Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable

I recently spent two weeks in Wales with my daughter, getting her all set up for graduate school.

Obviously, I eventually had to come home—and after those two weeks, she was ready to be on her own.

I mean, no young adult wants their mom to stay with them forever.

While I was in Wales, we did a little bit of exploring.

But since we spent most of our time getting her situated, we didn’t have that much time for other things.

Before I left she told me, “I’m just not going to be one of those people that does solo travel. I can’t do that. That’s just not me. I won’t feel comfortable doing that.”

After I was gone for just three days, she called me up and said, “I think I want to go to London.”

So, she booked her first solo trip.

She’s taking the train, which is a two-and-a-half-hour trip one way.

She’s going to walk around town, see a show, and then take the train back that night.

I am so proud of her for getting out of her comfort zone and doing something she didn’t think she could.

She let go of “I can’t” and turned it into “I will.”

She knew what she wanted, and she wasn’t going to let fear of solo travel stand in her way.

Look Fear in the Face

My daughter has never done something like this before. And it may be a little scary for her.

But she’s looking fear in the face and doing something she really wants to do.

The show in London is something she really wants to see. It brings her joy to think about, and it’s something she’s passionate about.

So she has made up her mind that she’s going to throw her fears out the window and just do it.

She’s doing the exact thing we all need to be doing with our own fears—facing them head-on.

So many times, we let our fear and the words “I can’t” get in the way of figuring out what we actually want.

Because of this, we end up limiting ourselves, thinking we can’t do those things.

We think we aren’t capable enough, we aren’t strong enough, that we’re not smart enough, or that we don’t fit in the right mold to be able to do it.

But the reality is that these fears are so far from the truth.

You are strong and capable just the way you are.

Change “I Can’t” into “I Did!”

Asking ourselves what we want and then giving ourselves permission to go out there and get it is one of the best things we can do for ourselves.

And the most exciting moment is when we turn those two little words of “I can’t” into the powerful statement “I did!”

Being able to say, “I did it!” is one of the greatest feelings of accomplishment there is, especially when you didn’t think you could do it.

Turning “I can’t” into “I did!” means that you’ve taken the steps, looked fear in the face, and did something you thought you couldn’t.

In the end, it’s an incredible feeling to be able to look back, see what you accomplished, and realize that it wasn’t really that scary after all.

It Never Hurts to Try

The big takeaway from this experience with my daughter is don’t shy away from what you want to do.

Don’t stress about things and wonder if you should.

Don’t stay where you’re comfortable and say I’m too scared to try.

Go out and try it.

What’s the worst thing that could happen?

Maybe it doesn’t go well.

So what?

If that happens, try something different next time. That’s how we learn, grow, and discover new things.

But if we don’t try, we will never know what we’re capable of.

And if we don’t try, we’ll never know that there is a whole big world out there that we’re missing.

So, go out there and do something you really want to do.

Change every single “I can’t” into “I did!”