My dad used to say, "can't never did anything" and I hated to hear it. Like many, I was born to a body less than perfect. Born premature, I spent much of the first year of my life in and out of hospitals. My lungs were underdeveloped and my early childhood was marked with bouts of asthma. Yes, my condition kept me from doing some things, but my handicap became a mental crutch. I lacked the drive to attempt because I was sure of failure. My father did not support my defeatist attitude. So, with regular and needed goading, I attempted things that I was sure that were not possible. Sometimes I failed. Sometimes I partially achieved. Yet sometimes, to my amazement, I completed the task. I thank my father for not allowing me to wallow in self pity. Later I outgrew the asthma and lettered in both cross country and track in high school. I have to believe that all that hiking in Scouts helped out.
When a muscle is stressed, it tears and rebuilds into a bigger muscle. When the mind is challenged, it grows and learns. I challenge you to not sell yourself short and do not let your mind talk you out of your potential. Turn "can't" into "can do."
A Scout is Brave.