Inspirational Quote by Eleanor Roosevelt.
You Must Do the Things You Think You Cannot Do
“You must do the things you think you cannot do.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
There is something about that quote that stops me every single time I read it. It is so simple. So short. And yet it has a way of looking you straight in the eye and calling you out on every excuse you have been holding onto.
We all have them. The things we know we should be doing. The goals we have quietly shelved because somewhere along the way we convinced ourselves we just could not do them. Not right now. Not yet. Maybe never.
But Eleanor was not interested in our excuses, and honestly, neither should we be.
When I Became My Own Obstacle
I will be honest with you. I have written two books, and I am slowly working on my third. I know in my heart that my story, my experience navigating divorce and grief and the slow climb back to joy, can help others who are walking that same painful road. I have lived it. I have researched it. I have written it down so that someone else does not have to feel as alone in it as I did.
And yet I have found myself stuck.
The struggle for me has been marketing. Figuring out how to get my books into the hands of the people who need them most. It is one of those things that feels completely outside of my comfort zone, the kind of task that makes me want to close the laptop and go make a cup of tea instead.
But here is what I keep coming back to: if I let that discomfort win, I am not just letting myself down. I am letting down every person who might have picked up that book on their hardest day and found something in it that helped them keep going.
That is not something I am willing to do.
So I keep going. Not because it is easy, but because Eleanor was right. You must do the things you think you cannot do.
What Is Stopping You?
I want to turn this around and ask you something directly.
What is the thing on your list that you keep putting off because some part of you has decided you cannot do it? Maybe it is starting a business. Writing a book. Going back to school. Having a hard conversation. Applying for the job. Booking the solo trip. Starting over after a loss.
Whatever it is, I want you to sit with it for a moment. Not to feel bad about it, but to get honest about it. Because most of the time, the thing standing between us and the life we want is not a lack of ability. It is a lack of belief that we are capable of getting there.
And that is something we can work on.
A Few Things That Help Me Keep Going
When I find myself frozen in front of something that feels impossible, here is what I come back to:
Break it down into the smallest possible step. You do not have to figure out the whole thing today. You just have to figure out the next thing. What is one small action you could take right now toward that goal?
Stop waiting until you feel ready. Readiness is a myth. Nobody feels fully ready for the hard things. You just start, and the confidence comes with the doing.
Remind yourself why it matters. When I feel like giving up on the marketing side of my books, I think about the woman who is sitting somewhere right now in the middle of her divorce, feeling like she will never find her way out. That is my why. What is yours?
Give yourself grace without giving yourself an exit. It is okay to struggle. It is okay to feel like you cannot do something. What is not okay is using that feeling as a permanent excuse to stop trying.
Lean on your faith. For me, there is a quiet confidence that comes from knowing I am not doing any of this alone. When the path feels unclear, that anchor holds.
Keep Going
Whatever you are facing right now, whatever the thing is that feels just out of reach, I want to encourage you with the same words I keep coming back to myself.
Take a deep breath. Take the next small step. And keep going, no matter how impossible it seems.
You are more capable than you think you are. And the people on the other side of your effort, the ones who need what only you can offer, are worth every uncomfortable step it takes to get there.
God bless you on your journey.
KathieyV
If you are navigating life after divorce and looking for a story that meets you exactly where you are, my book “My Story My Divorce God’s Promise – The Beginning” is available on Amazon. It is the beginning of my journey, written for anyone who has ever wondered how to keep going.