Weekly Nugget: A Special Kind Of Victimhood: The Mood of "I Can't"

Hi friend,

I have recently come across something that’s got all my attention.

I call it the victimhood of inability. 

It is widespread and yet goes unnoticed by most. 

It is the declaration of inability to do something; that shows up like an excuse for not doing it. 

It shows up as “I can’t do this.” “I’m not built for that.” “That’s not my skill.” or “It’s not who I am.”  

The utterance, “I can’t do this,” reported like a fact, is actually a way out—a way to stay put. 

You might ask, what's the harm in staying put? Well, it's dangerous. It feels like safety, like a place you can rest, but it really is a trap. Such an utterance invents a perceptual prison that locks up the potential of your life.

By declaring ‘inability,’ we protect ourselves from risk, from change, and from becoming someone new. This is giving in to normality—a refusal to even consider a different future. 

It’s easier to believe you’re incapable than to face the task of becoming capable.

How so? Because if you give up that ‘you can’t,’ then you’ll have to be responsible. You’d have to do the hard work, take risks, make mistakes, or even look foolish. You’d have to expand.

The victimhood of “I can’t” is cowardice dressed up as comfort. You choose the known, even if it keeps you small, over the unknown, which could make you grand.

Every time you say, “I can’t,” you are avoiding some discomfort. You’re denying yourself the challenge of becoming someone different, someone greater. 

The truth? You’re capable of more than you can perceive. But to realize it, you’d have to let go of your surety in your inability. 

So, I challenge you this week: Catch yourself when you fall into the victimhood of inability. When you hear that inner voice say, “I can’t,” pause.

Ask yourself: “What if I could? What would it take for me to learn this? What’s the first small step I can take?”

Let’s shed this mood of victimhood of inability and embrace a mood of possibility, of growth, of becoming. Don’t fear hard work. After all, the only true inability is the unwillingness to aim.

With care,

Saqib