Can You?
I have two words for anyone who needs to get something done today.
My 17-and-unders coach used to yell “CAN YOU” when someone was chasing down a volleyball they probably couldn’t get to. I’m 6’2, built like Gumby, and not overly competitive. I was mostly there for the friendship of it all. So–if it was just up to me–no, probably I wasn’t getting there. But could I? For some reason I felt like that needed to be answered. Many, many times, I couldn’t, but at least we knew. And the frequency of not getting there inevitably decreased.
I still hear him sometimes when I don’t feel like doing something, whether it’s difficult or the payoff isn’t guaranteed. It’s a much greater catalyst than I ever thought it would be. This is a hugely first-world problem, but today, I didn't want to scamper through JFK Terminal 8 to make my standby flight home with my too-short roll-aboard handle and my Gumby arms. I watch videos of people running through those long terminals at Denver Airport and laugh at them. But I want to get home, and today I heard his voice, so I ran. And guess what? I ate shit. My knee is banged up and I couldn't made eye contact with the woman who asked if I was ok. I just said yes and limped away. I'm lucky my laptop still works because I basically elbow dropped it. But I made my flight. I'm going home.
So if you need to do something today that you don’t want to do, I ask you: CAN YOU? Can you just start it? Can you be more understanding? Can you be kind even though they don’t deserve it? Can you stick up for yourself? Can you finish the application? Can you send the pitch?