I remember back in the day, when I competed on an all star cheerleading team. I remember the intense practices and the tough training for all those backtucks & layouts. And I also remember our coach drilling this motto into our heads - "Can't is NOT in your vocabularly!!". Everytime he caught us using "can't" in a sentence, it was outside to the parking lot to run suicides. Or lining up to do so many backtucks and toetouches in a row your body thought it would collapse. I used to hate hearing how we should never say that word.

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But you know what? As I have grown, I have realized that it makes a lot of sense. So much energy is in our thoughts it is incredible. Our thoughts can either empower us to do something we never dreamed of...or hinder us and hold us back. It took putting myself through a lot of learning situations to finally get it and try to remove "can't" from my vocabularly.

I used to always define my eating by what I was not allowed to have. I would tell myself "you can't have sugar"..."you can't have too much fat"..."you can't have anything processed at all"..."you can't have red meat"..."you can't can't can't". And you know what happened? I immediately craved anything that was a "can't" food. And then I would give in, feel like a failure, think I was incapable of  reaching whatever goal I was trying to accomplish, give up, and finally end by going overboard and overeating. Sounds like a fun cycle, huh? [Source]

And when I removed any limits from what I was allowed to eat, I naturally began craving healthy stuff and could fit in treats in a healthy way, both physically and emotionally. "Can't" no longer controlled my eating.

But "can't" is not only a four letter word in the dieting world. It can hold us back from many aspirations. As a teacher, we were taught that our classroom rules should always be positive. Instead of saying "Don't be rude to your classmates" it was recommended to use a rule like "Be kind to your classmates" instead. The notion was that by removing the negative connotation, the atmosphere would be more positive and students would be more likely to acknowledge the desired actions.

While I don't know how well that worked with high schoolers, because there will always be that one kid you just want to smack because he/she refuses to follow ANY rule no matter how it is worded,  I do agree with the idea affecting how we approach our own life. Negativity is very debilitating. Will you even begin to pursue a goal if you feel like the outcome is something you can't do? Probably not and if you do, you likely won't go very far before frustration hits. If you believe you can't do something, a self fulfilling prophecy will result. Have you ever heard of self sabotage? If you believe something can't happen, subconsciously you will find a way for it not to happen. It is a lot easier to get thrown off course if you believe the end result will be failure no matter what. Ever have thoughts like the following with similar results?

• "I can't run" so whenever I try as soon as it starts getting tough I don't push through...I stop.
• "I can't work my way up to that promotion" so instead of seeking opportunities to show the skills I believe I have, I melt into the background and get overlooked.
• "I can't make new friends" so I never feel confident enough to strike up a conversation with someone or reach out to an acquaintance.
• "I can't cook" so I stick to old stand by recipes and don't branch out to try new things. Hmmm, this one sounds familiar for myself, but I am certainly working on it. 😉

How to fix this problem? Instead of thinking of what you "can't" do. Think of what you can.

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You can always try. You can always do your best. That doesn't mean you will always succeed or reach a particular goal. But you can live in the satisfaction that you did what you could and that's what matters. You can revel in the progress and achievements you do make, instead of the things you didn't accomplish. You can replace the negative with the positive. And that could very well lead to positive changes happening in your life.

• Do you believe our thoughts can impact our achievements?
• How often do you tell yourself you can't do something? What is one thing you think you "can't" do and how can you change it?

And although this type of flexibility is very important....

ummm....OUCH!

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...I am actually speaking about flexibility in our workout schedules and, for that matter, all of our schedules and plans.

Susan from The Great Balancing Act recently did a post where she mentioned her workout schedule and asked about everyone else's schedules and how they approach their own workouts.

Without a doubt, I am a scheduler and planner and overanalyzer. I actually get pleasure out of coming up with detailed workout plans that are laid out for any day in the foreseeable future. Wanna know something neurotic? I had 6 months of workout plans lined up and ready to go for after I gave birth to Makenzie and was able to workout again! Dedication or madness? You don't have to answer that! 😉

Part of this is my passion for being creative with my workout setups and seeing what new things I can incorporate to challenge myself. Part of this is also my self-proclaimed exercise ADD where I can't do the same exact workout for months on end...or even two weeks in a row. Part of this is a way to express myself and practice for an interest I hope to pursue as my career one day. All of these parts added up to a good thing; nonetheless, it was a good thing that could and would bite me in the ass with unnecessary and misplaced stress.

Having a plan is a good thing. I still have a workout schedule. I even have it posted here for the world (aka my handful of followers and readers) to see. For me, there are many benefits to having a plan for my workouts.

• schedule in the appropriate workouts for balanced amounts of cardio and lifting or a race/competition plan
• plan and space out workouts optimally for your body's needs
• keep things in order with other tasks - similar to the concept of putting your workout in your appointment book
• able to know and be prepared for your workouts/rest every day

Problems arise, however, when your plan becomes THE plan. The be all end all of your training life. It becomes an issue with any of the following:

• don't spend time with loved ones or focusing on other tasks because you refuse to try to rearrange it
• don't listen to your body because you are focused on what you "have" to do that day in the gym
• it affects your attitude negatively when things don't happen as planned
• participating in negative self-talk because you didn't stick to your training plan and suddenly feeling you aren't "good enough" or will "never" make progress

Do any of those sound familiar to you? I know I have personally experienced each of them. Mostly during competition training, but my thoughts on that process could be another post for another time. Back to the point, which is that the problem in each of the above situations is allowing your schedule to control you. If you made up the schedule, shouldn't you be allowed to change it? Yes! Which is why it is so important to be flexible. Have a schedule and follow it as much as you can, but be prepared to switch things up. Life doesn't always happen as we expect it to, even in the small details of our workout routines. There are even benefits to changing things up:

• to relieve stress
• to try out new workouts or a new rotation in your plan
• to give your body extra opportunities to rest considering many planners like to overschedule themselves
• have more time for other important areas of our lives

Now questions for you. Do you have a workout schedule? How important is it to you to follow it 100%? What do you think the biggest pros and cons are to schedules?  Have you noticed any benefits in being more flexible with schedules and plans? I know I have! Mainly in the stressing less department. 😉

Before you leave, checkout these cool giveaways going on around the blog world 🙂 Em is giving away a yoga mat; Jenny is giving away Almond Milk coupons;  Julie is giving away a Yoplait Goddess Pack.