Nothing is impossible, unless you give up.

This might be an uncomfortable truth for people to sit with.

I think we can all reflect on our lives and think about something we tried to do that we didn't succeed at. And I don't mean childhood dreams or adolescent goals that are likely out of our reasonable reach. I also don't mean things that are physically impossible. I mean things you have wanted as an adult that are attainable for you.

Think of something that you have tried to do before. Something that felt like it was going to be hard. Something that made you a little nervous, but also excited. Or maybe you haven't even tried it yet, but it lives hidden away in your deepest desires. Take a minute to think about that thing.

Be honest with yourself about this one.

If you haven't tried it yet, what is stopping you?

How can you counter those arguments against trying it?

If you did try it, how is that going?

Is it still a work in progress?

Or did it fall by the wayside because you (consciously or unconsciously) decided that you couldn't achieve it?

Maybe it's a level of fitness you want to achieve. Maybe it's a skill you want to learn. Maybe it's a level-up of connection and communication with your partner. Maybe it's further education. Maybe it's finding a new social group. Maybe it's a new career. Quitting smoking. A new language. A better skincare routine. A better wardrobe. Better screen time habits. A bigger bum. Drinking less alcohol. More flexibility in your body. A meditation practice.

It could be anything. But if you are still alive, and it is not physically or economically impossible to do, and you still want to do that thing... then it's not impossible, you've just stopped trying.

It is hard to do hard things. And it is easy and comfortable to stay in familiarity, even if it's boring or bad for you. And it is easy to come up with reasons why we "can't" do it. The reality is, there are few things that should hold enough power to actually stop you from achieving something that you genuinely want to achieve. And this is kind of a secondary topic, but if you aren't failing at something, you aren't trying hard enough. If you are not sitting in some kind of discomfort, finding something in your life challenging, or doing poorly at something that you are actively trying to be better at... then you are not growing.

 You can take all the time you need to work on the goal that is important to you. You can take your whole life to keep trying, if you want to.

Once you realize this, it is very hard to justify to yourself that you just "couldn't do it" or you "weren't good at it". What happened is that it was hard, and you stopped trying. But again, you can do hard things. And the harder the thing is, the better you're going to feel when you accomplish it. And if you just keep trying, you eventually will.

Just keep trying and you will eventually succeed.