How many times have you said to yourself or others you can’t do something because…
We say it a lot!
We don’t have enough time or money. We don’t have the ability or skill.
If only we had (insert reason) we would be able to.
I want to challenge your reason. Is that really what’s stopping you?
I was in Prague for a few days for New Year. Whilst walking across Charles Bridge I spotted a group of 4 senior gentleman playing musical instruments. They were wonderful! It was only after stopping to listen for a while I noticed the details of their instruments.
The drum beat wasn’t coming from a small drum set….
Hey presto when you don’t have a drum set you can have a board with metal on it and a pair of whisks!
It sounded fantastic! It then seemed ridiculous as to why they would cart around a drum set when this did the job perfectly.
It reminded me of holidays some years ago on the Greek islands. I was always stunned at their ingenuity at making the most beautifully colourful gardens. These islands were small and didn’t have a garden centre or shops selling gardening supplies. How then did they have gardens brimming with colour, planters and hanging baskets.
Creativity!
The blue pots above are olive oil tins which were then painted and used as flower pots. Bricks were painted multiple colours and lined up to create paths.
Each time I saw a garden I was both inspired and humbled. These days if we can’t buy something that’s the end of the line.
How often do we look deeper and think of alternatives?
How often do we look at what we already have and create something new out of it?
The next time you really want something or really want to do something but tell yourself you can’t because…challenge yourself to find a different way.
Written by Julia Donald at Cognitive Vitality Psychotherapy in Inverness.