Saying I Can't

Michele and me at Rush Copley Healthplex after I completed my first three-mile run.

I can’t. I won’t.
We sometimes hear this type of verbiage from clients, friends and even ourselves.
𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.
At a Jan. 1 birthday gathering at LaScarola in Chicago, our family talked about goals for 2025. I had three personal goals that I shared when my son-in-law Grant Burke said, “I challenge you to run a 5K.” I gave him an insane look and paused before my testosterone took over. I said, “I’ll run 5 miles.” He said, “Great. The Shamrock Shuffle is a five-mile run. Why don’t you sign up?”
On the drive home, I said to my wife Michele Kelly, that I was stupid. She didn’t disagree, but was kind enough to ask why? I said I hadn’t run in 45 years, and I’m not sure I can.
“You can’t or you won’t?” she asked
I remained quiet the remainder of the drive.
The next morning, I began training for the Shamrock Shuffle. I ran about a quarter of a lap around the track at the Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora. I gasped and heaved. I swore. I swore this was not something I should be doing just because my ego got in the way of a great evening.
True to who Michele is, she congratulated me and encouraged me and told me how proud of me she was. “You can do this,” said the woman who ran the 2024 Chicago Marathon.
I felt like a schmuck. She ran 26.2 and I am crying over a quarter of a lap.
Two days later, I was back on the track. I resolved to run a little farther and did. In a few weeks, I was running/walking a mile. Then two. Last week I ran/walked three, and this week it will be four.
I feel great. I 𝘊𝘈𝘕 do this.
I can’t say that it’s fun. I can’t say that after March 23 that I’ll ever run again. But I can say that I’m demonstrating to my children that there’s a big difference in saying, “I can’t, and I won’t.” The former is not truthful and the latter is laziness.
We all need to get out of our comfort zones – as individuals and as companies.
I hope by sharing my story, you pick up a challenge and run with it. You 𝘊𝘈𝘕 and you 𝘞𝘐𝘓𝘓, and then share it with me.