Brian Johnson explores Paramahansa Yogananda's teaching on the destructive power of 'can't' consciousness, diagnosing fear and laziness as the root obstacles. The antidote: repeated affirmation of 'I can,' willful action, and replacing 'someday' with 'today' until your goals are achieved.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic plus one. In our last plus one, we reconnected with Yogananda and got his perspective on how to be victorious in life. I repeat, be on fire with purpose and know that without battle you cannot achieve anything. Today we're going to talk about how to deal with a cant consciousness. Let's get straight to work. Yogananda tells us, and I quote, such is the force of the mind and the vibratory power of words when you say to yourself, I can't do it. No one else in the whole world can change that decree. You must destroy that paralyzing enemy. I can't. There is an antidote for can't consciousness, the affirmation. I can create that antidote with your mind and administer it with your will. He continues by saying, the companionate impediment must also be vanquished. I can do it, but I won't do it. Many people have this mindset because it is much easier to sit and do nothing. Then he drops the hammer. The worst sin against your progress and success is to be mentally lazy. Physical laziness is something forgivable because you have worked hard and the body wants rest. But mental laziness is absolutely inexcusable. It petrifies your mind if you forsake, won't laziness. If you make up your mind that I have got to go do it and I must do it and I will do it, success will surely materialize. Now, in nearly every one of my coaching sessions with Phil, he references Rudolf Steiner. As we recently discussed, Steiner said that the two primary limiting factors in a person's life are simple fear and laziness. There's no better summation of those two issues than the two phrases I can't and I won't. As long as we allow fear and doubt to cloud our thinking, it's impossible for us to achieve. We must believe we can if we have a shot at actually doing so. But that's not enough. We need to move past both the fear and doubt and the laziness and actually do the hard work, moving over and under and through all the inevitable obstacles without losing the I can hope and determination. Now Yogananda continues by saying, throw out all negative thoughts. Overcome the idea that you cannot do a thing by simply starting to do it. Circumstances will try to slap you down to make you become discouraged and again say, I can't do it. And then he drops yet another hammer when he says, if there is a devil, that devil is I can't do it. That is the Satan that has disconnected your dynamo of eternal power. It is the main reason you do not succeed in life. And he says, throw that demon out of your consciousness by your indomitable conviction. I can do it, mean it and affirm it as often as you can. Mentally believe it and energize that belief by acting on it with willpower. Work, he says, and while you work, never give up the thought I can do it. Even if there are a thousand obstacles, do not relent. If you have that determination, then what you go after must inevitably come to pass. And when it does, you will say, well, that was so easy and that's today's plus one. Let's throw the I can't demon out of our consciousness as we flip the switch and invite our daimons to the party. How? Repeat after me. I can and I will not. Someday. Today.
