Oh Yes You Can

by Leslie Aronson — July 3, 2008

I've always wanted to learn how to play the guitar, and though I have a moderate amount of natural musical ability, somehow I've never gotten around to actually sitting down and doing it. Similarly, I've always wanted to become a pro at kayaking, but again, I've never put forth the effort to seriously do it. In both instances, if I could just get over my own laziness and put forth a little effort, I could easily start to fulfill these goals. So my questions today are:

• What have you always wanted to do but have put off?
• Are there skills you want to learn but haven't taken the time or put forth the effort to master?
• What's stopping you? Lack of motivation? Monetary obstacles? Not enough hours in the day?

I keep telling myself there's still plenty of time in the future to travel or to master various skills, but the frightening truth keeps popping into my head lately (especially since my last birthday) that each of us is only given a finite amount of time in which to accomplish our goals. With that in mind, why wouldn't I just plunge right in and start learning the stuff I want to learn? I'm not a psychologist and won't pretend to have answers to this type of questioning, but, Debby Downer though I may seem, I think it's better to ask these questions now than feel regret later down the road. Don't talk yourself out of doing the things you've dreamt of!