Seven years ago, while traveling in China with my husband, we had to wear face masks some days because of air pollution. And I remember saying to my husband: Oh, I could never live in a place where we had to wear masks – I could never live that way!  - and here we are today, living that way!

And it made me think about the things we think we can and cannot do – the constraints we put on ourselves in our own personal lives. How many times have you heard yourself say: I could never run a marathon; or I could never become self-employed; I’m not the kind of person to give a presentation; I need a partner to be happy; writing a book is for other people, not me!

Isn’t it interesting how we decide something about who we are - what we’re capable of doing or not doing, and how we constrain ourselves to that idea? If we were told a few months ago that we’d have to socially distance ourselves from others; wear face masks, and not be allowed to go to restaurants or public places, we would have quickly told ourselves that it wouldn’t be possible.

And here we are. That door has flung open and we’re doing it – we’re living it. Who knew? Just consider:

What if everything you’ve told yourself about who you are is not true? What if you could open that door and expand the possibilities for your life?

Begin to notice the stories you tell yourself about what you can and can’t do. Ask yourself: How do you know that is true?

Sometimes it takes a tragedy, illness, or pandemic to shake-up our lives  –  but we really don’t have to wait for tragedies to strike. We can open that door of possibility now. Try to loosen the grip on what you think you could never do. The biggest constraint is the story we tell ourselves.