What to Say When You Cant Do Something - The Muse

What to Say When You Cant Do Something - The MuseWhat to Say When You Cant Do Something Think of the last time you asserted that you just werent good at something. Got it? Alright, now take that sentence and add the word yet to the end of it.I cant become an engineer because I dont know how to code yet.Im not a good enough public speaker to pitch myself for keynotes yet.I cant master the perfect pie crust... yet.Its amazing how much that one three-letter word can shift your mindset, isnt it? Thats exactly why entrepreneur and author, Seth Godin, dedicated an entire blog post to this encouraging trick. Heres the thing Its easy to limit ourselves. If theres something we dont have a lot of experience with or theres a skill thats not currently in our repertoire, were all pretty quick to write ourselves off- as if its not a thing we were meant to do, simply because we arent inherently good at it.Ive done that very thing more times than I can count. When I started freelancing, I beat mysel f over the head with the fact that I knew nothing about creating a website. However, it wasnt long before I had built my own online writing portfolio. When a friend asked if Id run a 5K with her, I told her that I wasnt capable of running three miles. But, I did just that only a few months later. My list of personal examples goes on and on. As Godin reminds us, its not the fact that youre not good enough or skilled enough or savvy enough to do that intimidating thing- its that you just cant do it yet. Some things require a little more elbow grease and dedication than others. Its true that youre not good enough yet, Godin says, None of us are. But if you commit to trying hard enough and long enough, youll get better.So, no, you may not be a skilled photographer or a top-notch writer or a masterful networker right at this moment- but, rest assured, that doesnt mean you cant get there. Theres a big difference between saying you cant do something and saying you cant quite do it yet.