What Can You Do?

  There is an American phrase I've often heard that expresses hopelessness.  People say it in response to another person's struggles.   After someone tells a long story about their difficulty with politics, money, or medicine, I've heard the listener say, exhaling with a sigh,

"What can you do?"

Which has the effect of ending the conversation (sometimes, to the relief of the listener).

Yesterday, while browsing the Etsy blog, I came upon that phrase again.  Only this time, it was used in a different way.  Tara Gentile, editor of Scoutie Girl is hosting a workshop based on the question "can it be done?"

Which is a phrase to live on.  While "what can you do?" symbolizes defeat and hopelessness, "can it be done?" opens up possibilities.   The reason is that "what can you do" is a question with millions of possible answers.  It is open ended and vague.  "Can it be done?" requires only two responses: yes, or no.

Sound confusing?  Thanks for hanging in there with me to this point.   I realize that because the majority of my day is spent with my son, it seems that he is the only topic I write about.  Perhaps this gets rather boring and predictable for folks.   Today, I wanted to talk about something different.   I wondered if I could write about something other than parenting.  I wanted to write about  how we change our way of thinking so that we can set great things in motion. I thought, "can it be done?"

  When thinking of something you have wanted to do for a long time, ask yourself, "can it be done?"  If the answer is yes, even if it is a meek, uncertain yes, then go out and do it! And be sure to tell me about it later.