There are a lot of things we are told we cannot do. I'm not talking about being told things like, "no, you can't touch fire, Johnny, because you're going to get burned," or "no, you can't pet that raccoon, Suzy, because you're going to get mauled." I'm talking about things where the expression our predicted failure or deficiency by others is more implied than explicitly expressed: pursuing certain hobbies, choosing a certain career path, how successfully we complete a certain activity or task.
It's easy to hold onto these things that we cannot do and use them to guide our life. But herein lies another thing we cannot do: live this way. Edward Everett Hale once said, "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."
So instead of defining and confining ourselves to what we cannot do, let us remember the things we can do. You may be pleasantly surprised to see just how truly capable you are.
75 Things I Can Do
- Sing the alphabet backward
- Bake the best chocolate chip cookies in the world
- Love
- Be loved
- Eat an entire rack of ribs by myself (in addition to a side of garlic bread and sweet potato fries)
- Offer my seat to people on the bus who need it more
- Drive decently
- Be selfless most of the time
- Be selfish some of the time
- Cox a boat
- Cry in public
- Not give a fuck about crying in public
- Make people laugh
- Write decent poetry
- Pass physics with an A
- Snowboard pretty well
- Boogie board even better
- Have faith
- Dream big
- Swim kinda fast
- Run kinda fast
- Cut my own bangs
- Pull them off without looking like a child
- Sing really well in the shower
- Offer good advice
- Take good advice
- Type the words "Hello," "Google," and "Boobs" on a calculator using only numbers
- Fry an egg
- Make my bed every morning
- Do my own laundry
- Clean my room without being told
- Hold for my breath for 40 seconds
- Shower in less than 5 minutes
- Be proud of my friends' accomplishments
- Take pride in my own
- Hula hoop for a really long time
- Squeeze into small spaces during hide-and-seek
- Do a cartwheel
- Complete crossword puzzles
- Give good hugs
- Talk to adults
- Empathize
- Appreciate what I have
- Use a pipet
- Look good in boring colors
- Fit into children's clothes
- Speak Spanish at a middle school level
- Plan a vacation by myself
- Wake up the first time my alarm goes off
- Build a hydroponic garden from scratch
- Recite the entire script from the coming of age film Aquamarine
- Hold things in
- Let things go
- Learn to forgive
- Be kind to those who are not kind to me
- Trust people with my secrets
- Be the keeper of other people's secrets
- Say "no" to dessert sometimes
- Eat a whole bag of chips in one sitting
- Have fun staying in on a Friday night
- Stay awake in class
- Spend money only on things I need
- Be okay with spending money on things I want
- Admit when I need help
- Accept it from those who offer it
- Use chopsticks
- Do a pull-up
- Calculate sale prices without using the calculator on my phone
- Sit in silence comfortably
- Be mature
- Be immature
- Rap the first and second verse of Ice Ice Baby
- Acknowledge the things I cannot do
- Remember all of the things I can
- Love myself for who've I become and everything that I am