It may be a simple question, but the answer has far-reaching effects in your life. If you don’t think you can do something, it’s very likely you won’t even try. You won’t put the time, effort or energy into it because, after all, it would be a waste, right? And who has time, effort or energy to waste these days?

On the other hand, if you think you can do something, you’re probably more than willing to invest the time, effort and energy into it because you’re pretty sure you’ll get the result you’re after.

So what makes the difference between thinking you can’t and thinking you can do something? For most of us, it’s proof. Proof in the form of results, past results, most likely. Where does that leave you if you’re looking at trying something completely new? Empty-handed? Not necessarily.

Just because you’ve never done a particular thing before does not mean you lack proof of your ability. All you have to do is rewind back to the last time you had to do something you thought you couldn’t do, but did. Guess what? There’s your proof. We each have things in our past that we thought for sure were going to ‘eat our lunch’, but didn’t.

There was a time in my life that I thought there was NO WAY I’d be able to earn a living from home without a job. I have three kids, a mortgage and a car payment, for crying out loud, plus I’m single with no other income to rely on! Well, guess what I’ve been doing since December of 2000?

Remember, that which does not kill us makes us stronger. Those previous experiences and ‘adventures’ are just the proof you need to show yourself what you’re capable of when you’re heading into unknown territory.