Over the last fourteen years, a highly effective experiential activity is used by yours truly for pre-teen learners. It was inspired by an anecdote from the internet.
The children write down sentences starting with the words ‘I can’t’: ‘I can't kick the football into the goal’, ‘I can't swim’, ‘I can’t speak vernacular languages.’… These statements are placed into a box and ‘Mr I Can’t’ is pronounced dead. The kids take turns to dig a pit into which the box is placed. They decorate the grave with flowers and twigs. To mark the occasion, a funeral speech is delivered by yours truly.
“Friends, ‘Mr I Can't’ is no more. While he was alive, he had an immense influence on all of us. His brothers and sisters, ‘I Can’, ‘I Will’, and ‘I shall’ survive him. They are not as strong and powerful as their famous relative. But, with your help, they will make an even bigger mark on the world. May ‘late Mr I Can't’ rest in peace and may ‘I Can’, ‘I Will’, and ‘I shall’ replace his role in our lives."
The children are asked to rephrase the statements they wrote, by replacing ‘I Can’t’ with ‘I Can’, ‘I Will’, and ‘I shall’. Obviously the negative statements turn to positive resolves with the addition of clearly defined choices: ‘I can kick the football into the goal, if I practice’ ‘I can swim if I attend swimming classes’, ‘I can speak the vernacular languages if I listen and converse in those languages’.
The experience ensured an enduring lesson. The process of removing negative belief is not complete without the replacement of affirmative resolves of aligned action choices. We must bury the ‘late Mr I Can’t’ and add life to ‘I Can’, ‘I Will’, and ‘I shall’. Transformation has to first start with our beliefs and then move to actions.
Deduct late Mr I Can’t from the defeating talk
Choose positive belief and the ways to walk…
- Pravin K. Sabnis
The children write down sentences starting with the words ‘I can’t’: ‘I can't kick the football into the goal’, ‘I can't swim’, ‘I can’t speak vernacular languages.’… These statements are placed into a box and ‘Mr I Can’t’ is pronounced dead. The kids take turns to dig a pit into which the box is placed. They decorate the grave with flowers and twigs. To mark the occasion, a funeral speech is delivered by yours truly.
“Friends, ‘Mr I Can't’ is no more. While he was alive, he had an immense influence on all of us. His brothers and sisters, ‘I Can’, ‘I Will’, and ‘I shall’ survive him. They are not as strong and powerful as their famous relative. But, with your help, they will make an even bigger mark on the world. May ‘late Mr I Can't’ rest in peace and may ‘I Can’, ‘I Will’, and ‘I shall’ replace his role in our lives."
The children are asked to rephrase the statements they wrote, by replacing ‘I Can’t’ with ‘I Can’, ‘I Will’, and ‘I shall’. Obviously the negative statements turn to positive resolves with the addition of clearly defined choices: ‘I can kick the football into the goal, if I practice’ ‘I can swim if I attend swimming classes’, ‘I can speak the vernacular languages if I listen and converse in those languages’.
The experience ensured an enduring lesson. The process of removing negative belief is not complete without the replacement of affirmative resolves of aligned action choices. We must bury the ‘late Mr I Can’t’ and add life to ‘I Can’, ‘I Will’, and ‘I shall’. Transformation has to first start with our beliefs and then move to actions.
Deduct late Mr I Can’t from the defeating talk
Choose positive belief and the ways to walk…
- Pravin K. Sabnis
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