Energy in Words: How “Can’t Consciousness” Stunts Our Potential

The Human Tendency to Cling to “Can’t”

I used to scoff often at my gym trainers, bitterly reporting that I can’t possibly do, say, twenty consecutive push-ups or a set of one-handed burpees. My upper body strength was never quite up to snuff, and I didn’t want to wind up flopping on the ground like a fool. Instead of embracing the challenge, I replaced those sets with habituated movements that came easily. 

For a long time, I coasted on that training plateau. I kept my fear of novice-ness in check by reinforcing my position as Incapable-Of-Doing-One-Handed-Burpees with a rampant stream of restrictive beliefs. Like so many of us, “can’t consciousness” had its hold on me.  

Inhabiting these mortal human forms, we’ve accustomed ourselves to the idea of limitation. “Oh, my body is too old for that sort of thing now. I can’t,” we say. Or “No, I’ve been told my whole life (by myself or others) that I’m awful at that. I can’t.”

As products of thought, our words are transmissions of energy that shapes our perceptions, habits, and outcomes. It doesn’t matter how they manifest: the words we think and speak are abuzz with potential.    

The language we choose reflects and reinforces our worldview. “Can’t” is more than just a conjunction of words—it’s a straitjacket that blocks growth before it even begins.

The Hidden Weight of Words

Perhaps you can already see where the errors were in my approach to training. Along the way, I had prepared an arsenal of words like “can’t,” “incapable,” and “fool” to defend my ideas of what I couldn’t do. Any time I faced the possibility of failure, I boxed myself into the comfort of limitations. 

And amazingly, that’s a thing most of us do.

When we use language, it’s more than just consecutive puffs of breath. Like any sound, our words produce energetic vibrations. They are waveforms that coincide with our words’ intent and meaning, interacting with our existence at large. 

As energetic beings ourselves, these vibrations imprint our internal experience—for better or worse. Through the psychological power of repetition, our messages become self-fulfilling prophecies. And because we are all interconnected, their impacts also spread into the whole world. 

Outward Demonstrations of Word Energy

We needn’t look far to demonstrate this, either. So-called “dangerous speech,” for example, carries the power to incite enemy-naming and violence. The atrocities of the Holocaust started with hateful, divisive words against Jewish people. More recently, the Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s military forces) used exclusionary rhetoric to justify discriminatory acts up to and including genocide.

Even today, emotional political polarization results in dehumanizing campaigns around the world. In the United States, presidential platforms are fueled by the energetic violence of speech. Social media companies are under fire for allowing hateful anti-transgender messages in several African countries. 

The ripple effects of dangerous speech are clear. Though it’s on the extreme end of communication, it reverberates poignantly, slicing through neutrality and harmony with the jagged edges of anger, anxiety, and despair. 

That is the choice some of us make. Imagine if more of us chose the healing balm of positivity and understanding—starting with the things we tell ourselves.

WHat is “Can’t Consciousness”?

Now that the energetic imprint-ability of our words is clear, we can hone back in on the narratives in our own heads. 

“Can’t consciousness” is the erroneous belief that we are incapable of doing something. It’s a learned mindset that’s rooted in fear and proliferated by repeated scripts of self-doubt. See if any of these sound familiar:

Notice that limitations aren’t always presented as “can’t.” Shoulds, oughts, don’ts, toos, and -lesses can carry the same restrictive power. 

“Can’t” Stunts Our Own Potential

Even if we’re “joking,” the very matter of these words can inhibit our progress. Our consciousness is an open channel. We might not think such messages have an impact, but unless we’re actively maintaining presence and awareness, energy soaks into our psyche just as rain wets the earth. 

This is the case even for others’ words and intentions. That’s why our environments are such prominent influences. We might not be directly tuned into an argument, for example, but the energy of the anger is enough to make a whole space tense.   

In that vein, when we tell ourselves that we “can’t” do something, a barrier is created even before we test our capacity. If the belief is that we’re not any good at writing, then the potential for drafting and completing a book is already null.

Everyone has natural inclinations toward certain skills and traits. That doesn’t mean the rest of us are barred from succeeding in those areas, though. We all have access to that potential. It might take one person 27 years for someone to learn to play piano, while another masters Beethoven in a week. The only difference is in the amount of time, effort, and attention that had to be applied. 

Often, “can’t” really means “I haven’t learned yet” or “I’m afraid to try.”

Nothing is barred from our potential. Our true Selves—that steady rhythm of spirit that underlies every expression of life—are illimitable. 

Rescripting the “Can’t” Narrative

To rescript our inner dialogues, we need to consciously shift from the belief of limitation to trust in our infinite potential. 

It’s a mighty task, of course. Our doubt- and fear-habits can be obnoxiously loud or subversive and hard to pin down. Rerouting them to positive takes persistence and determination. Take the words of late swami Paramahansa Yogananda:  

Overcome the idea that you cannot do a thing by simply starting to do it. And then continuously keep on doing it. Circumstances will try to slap you down, to make you become discouraged and again say, “I can’t do it.” If there is a devil, that devil is “I can’t do it.”…Throw that demon out of your consciousness by your indomitable conviction: “I can do it.”

Again, “can” doesn’t always present the same way. Consider these reimaginations of our earlier examples of self-doubt.

The Creative Power of Words

Even just bringing more grace and patience to our language invites greater possibility. We don’t have to belittle ourselves for being where we are in our journeys. Instead, we can acknowledge our uncertainty without fearing or resisting it, speaking to ourselves and others in ways that welcome understanding and growth.

Gentleness is sometimes mistaken for weakness or passivity, but that assumption comes from a culture that associates value with hard-earning grit. Yet there’s a quiet strength in choosing grace. In my experience, shifting to grace has proven more sustainable (and far more empowering) than any forceful put-down or negative belief.

Words aren’t just descriptive—they’re creative. They both mirror our reality and help us to shape it. By bringing this awareness to our use of language, especially to ourselves, we begin to reclaim agency over our energy, mindset, and direction. 

Take it from this amateur athlete: even one-handed burpees are possible. When I remember to tap into faith instead of doubt, energy and inspiration instantly burst forth from that willpower.

“Can’t” never comes from the voice of spirit. We aren’t born or bound to be limited by a cage of erroneous beliefs about ourselves. Let this willful shift in language propel you past doubt and into the strength you don’t yet know is yours!

⋆.ೃ࿔ :･⚝⭑