You Can’t Do ANYTHING You Put Your Mind To: Embrace the Power of What You Can Instead

Northern Lights over the cabin in Chicken, Alaska

One of my favorite bloggers Ayodeji Awosika wrote a great article recently:

10 Inconvenient Truths About Life Most Self-Help Gurus Won’t Admit

While all of his points were great, the one that hit home to me was this one:

You Can’t Do ANYTHING You Put Your Mind To

There’s a harsh truth to this statement for a person like me living with a disability. No matter how I wish it, unless someone makes a stunning medical breakthrough, I will never get back what Multiple Sclerosis has taken from me.

I know, I know…thanks a lot Debbie Downer.

But even for those who are healthy, we live in a society where we bombarded with images of what we “should be”.

Put in enough time, effort (and money!), and you can look and be as successful as (insert the name of popular celebrity).

It’s a multi-million-dollar business in and of itself, and people destroy so much of their time and happiness on something that may not even suit them.

Meanwhile, there is an incredible amount of freedom and power when you acknowledge what you cannot change, but embrace fully what you can.

There’s so much we have no control over in this life, but tiny steps of consistent self-improvement can have a huge impact over time.

I will admit it freely: I HATE YOGA.

But I do it every day. Will I ever be a famous yogi? NO — but it helps me improve my balance and keep flexible from the multiple injuries I have suffered over the years from falls.

I jog slower than a turtle marching through molasses, but I still do it because it helps me maintain my coordination.

I read aloud and practice the guitar to help with my speech and hearing. I’ll never be a famous musician, but I enjoy playing music.

I read something every day. Whether it’s a blog, a tech paper or a book. Learning new ideas and technology helps feed my imagination and my writing.

I write every day. Is it always perfect or compelling — no. But it is steady forward progress.

Embrace putting your best energy into the things you can do, and stop trying to chase things that aren’t even worth the effort. You’ll find yourself much further ahead.

Thanks for reading.

I weighed anchor at 18 and joined the Navy’s Nuclear power program. Through many twists and turns, I made my way to Alaska. You can find me playing with live electricity or writing about my off-grid adventures, women in STEM, or my struggles with MS. My Alaska backcountry horror novella, The Dark Land, is available on Amazon.