I gave up the word can’t, originally to keep myself from wiggling into laziness while working on an exercise program. I wanted to prevent myself from making excuses why I can’t workout at a given time. But I was also dieting and found I was constantly telling myself what I can’t eat, so I had to think twice about how to look at my diet. By using a selective word choice, saying won’t instead of can’t, I felt empowered. When I say I can’t eat certain foods, it’s as if I’m being controlled by this horrible thing we call a diet and it was a relentless struggle. But in saying I won’t eat these things it made me realize that I was making a conscious choice and becoming the boss of my eating habits, not the other way around.
Tedi, MA