Posted by in Personal Growth | 0 Comments

“You Can Do Anything You Put Your Mind To.”

“You can do anything you put your mind to.” That’s what my mom said to me when I was growing up. When I developed carpal tunnel syndrome in both arms and had to make the choice between surgery and career change and I was afraid of the latter, my mom said, “Susan, you can do anything you put your mind to.”

Years later, I look back on that wisdom of my mom and I realize that it’s useful on so many levels. I’m not sure she was aware of how profound her comments were, any more that I think she considered the inherent logic in her favorite statement whenever I lost something, “It must be somewhere.”

But “you can do anything you put your mind to,” now that’s something. It suggests that it’s not just hard work that counts at the end of the day- it’s also what I call “smart work,” plus dedication, persistence, and focus.

When my mom used to say it to me, she meant, “Think about it, figure out how to do it, and then go do it.” When I combine that with my sister’s wisdom of “figure out where you want to go first, then once you’ve decided, worry about how to get there,” I find that I’m virtually unstoppable.

How can you apply this to your life? Are you “putting your mind to it” or are you just stumbling through? How can you put your mind to your goals and really make them happen?