As one of the greatest actors of all time once said, “those who say they can’t and those who say they can are both right.” That actor is of course Will Smith. Some people don’t realize how much power words actually have on us.

Just because they don’t have any physical substance to them doesn’t mean they can’t seriously impact our well being and perception.

The secret of leading a successful life is choosing the correct works for your inner voice because that will allow you to bring out the best version of yourself imaginable. You will need an inner voice of this nature to persevere through the rough patches we all are naturally faced with, to guide us through tougher times that are more emotionally debilitating than we could have ever predicted.

If you want to live your life to its highest potential and achieve all of your goals, then eliminate these belittling words, “I can’t”, from your vocabulary. Saying “I can’t” to yourself in any situation is the most harmful form of self affliction on earth. You might as well stop trying at whatever you are doing if you truly believe you can’t pull it off. Life is about breaking through that wall of “I can’t” and telling yourself that you can at all times.

Here are 5 reasons why you should never say “I can’t”.

Just thinking that you can’t do something instantly weakens you.

It is impossible to get through anything if you don’t truly believe it can be done. Just telling yourself that you can’t overcome what life has thrown at you a few times keeps you pigeon holed, afraid of breaking out of a boring lifestyle that has no risk and therefore no reward.

Those who tell themselves they can do something believe they can find a way, and understand that the only person who can stop them from figuring out how to find a solution to a problem is themselves.

You never truly know what you are capable of accomplishing until you tell yourself you can and you actually start trying like you never have before.

It cant stop you from changing the world. 

Henry Ford wanted to build the first V8 engine. He didn’t know how to do it, so he asked his highly qualified engineers to build it. According to them, a V8 engine was impossible, but Henry Ford wanted it. Ford would continually ask the men if they had it figured out and they would continue to give reasons why they weren’t able to build it. This went on for many months until those same engineers, who said it couldn’t be done, built the V8 engine he wanted.

Henry Ford refused to believe it wasn’t possible even though his engineers were convinced his dream couldn’t be brought to life. He pushed them to think beyond their limits. If he would have listened to everyone around him we might still be using horses to get from place to place.

The words “I can” is the reason why we live in such an advanced world. So you can change the world as well if you put your mind to it. In this world, nothing is impossible.

It can stop you from trying new experiences.

Think about when you were younger and were scared to try new things like ride a bike or make a shot on a 10 foot rim. We all told ourselves we can’t do it just yet. But once we have mastered it we all realize that there was nothing so difficult about it.

Being afraid of the “I can’t” reaction will stop us from trying new things we will eventually get great pleasure out of. The kid that thought he could never ride a bike is most likely the one that still doesn’t know how to ride or even how to swim because he always told himself he can’t and never tried.

You have the power to do anything you want in this life. As long as you never tell yourself you cannot do something, the sky is truly the limit. One of the many beauties of being human is that we make our own choices and with those choices we can go wherever our minds and hearts desire.

If you try to do something you never thought you could, the rewards are simply to great to describe let alone list in this article. You will begin to view yourself and the world around you in an entirely different light. You will become aware of the joy of growing as a person by learning how to do something you thought you didn’t have the capacity to understand.

You will realize that you and only you are in control of what you can and cannot do and as long as you keep believing you can do something, nothing will stand in your way on the path to success.

If you don’t try, you will never know what you are capable of.

You already have lost the mental battle.

If you think “I can’t”, then you are setting yourself up for failure even if you try.

Believing that you can do anything is vital if you want to have any sort of motivation to take action towards a specific goal. Once you get started, your success depends on what you’re repeating in your head along the way. It depends on how far you feel like pushing yourself and breaking through any notion you have of not being able to overcome what is in front of you.

Thinking “I can’t” is like a car driving with the emergency brakes. In order to get the car to go, you will have to release the parking brake; release your negative thoughts of “I can’t”.

Too often people try to achieve a goal and then wonder why their efforts aren’t paying off when what they should have done is just release their doubts entirely.

You will live a life full of regret.

Living a life of regret puts such a heavy damper on your ability to be proud of the legacy you have left in this world. It means you are going to live a life full of disappointments and excuses. That is not something anybody wants to do.

Do you want to be on your deathbed and wish you lived more? Will you die with a life full of regrets?

Saying “I can’t” doesn’t make the desire go away forever. It may temporarily subside while you continue your life. Then one day it will come back and consume your thoughts until you decide to take action or push it out of your mind for another few weeks, months or even years.

You are capable whatever you put your mind to. It sounds so simple, but it’s so true.

No matter what age you are right now, you’ve accomplished so much. You’ve done things you didn’t think you could do. Celebrate the small wins you have had in your life so far. Write those down. Nothing is too small. If you want to write something as simple as learning to walk, do it. Being aware of those small wins will give you the confidence you need to know that you have accomplished so much already.

You may be successful in some part of your life, that you think is not a big deal, but to someone else it really is. Be proud of everything you have accomplished and keep moving forward by telling yourself you can because that is when you begin living life with a purpose.

If there is a challenge you are facing, surely there is someone who has been in the same situation and succeeded. Realize that the path you want to take in life has been completed by many others before you.

The power of your mind is more powerful than you think. Everything you do or don’t do in life begins with a thought, a message to your brain that says that you will not step down when you are called to arms in the battle for success that is being alive.

Preston Waters | Elite.