How many times have you told yourself or others, “I can’t do this”? How often has an idea in your mind been quickly erased by the words, “I can’t do that”? How many times has the fear of not being able to do something prevented you from moving forward? The truth is, a simple statement like that, with just a few words, can completely limit you, closing every door to new challenges and opportunities. To move forward, we must do the things we think we cannot do.

You might have the best idea, be offered a wonderful new opportunity, or find yourself in a challenging moment in your life. But if you let your mind convince you that you can’t do something, you limit yourself, erasing the chance to become stronger and more confident and to experience something new. To overcome that limiting mindset, you need to confront your fears head-on, telling them, “I’m not afraid anymore,” and proving it by doing the things you once thought you couldn’t do.

It is important to overcome the most dangerous fear of all: The fear of failure. The fear of not achieving what we want can be paralyzing, but we must understand that failure is not a dead-end but a detour. It pushes us down a different path, and if we are committed enough to keep moving forward, we can use it to become stronger and wiser. Often, what we learn along the way is more valuable than the destination itself. Sometimes, we even end up in a better place than we imagined. So, don’t fear failure—by embracing it, you’ve already taken the first step toward doing the things you thought you couldn’t do.

“You always pass failure on your way to success.” – Mickey Rooney

The most interesting part of doing the things you think you cannot do is that after you accomplish them, you cease to be the person you were before. This change is inevitable, but it’s rewarding because you not only become better but you also realize how capable you are. It boosts your self-confidence, broadens your horizons, and shows you that what we fear is often not as bad as we thought. And even if you don’t succeed, as long as you don’t let failure stop you but instead use it as an advantage to improve yourself, then nothing can hold you back.

In my life, I’ve learned that once you decide to confront your fears, nothing can stop you. I’ve learned that deciding to do what you think you can’t do is the best way to make your fears disappear. It becomes a lifestyle—you become stronger and more confident, and nothing can stop you. I’ve tried, I’ve failed, and I’ve tried again, but I’ve never let anything stop me from having new experiences, learning something new, or becoming better. Challenges can be our best opportunity to reveal the best version of ourselves. It’s important to accept that we may not always achieve what we want, or it might be more difficult than we anticipated. You need to learn to accept failure, make it your friend, and not fear disappointment. If you can accept the life you’ve been given and deal with your circumstances to the best of your abilities, you’ll live your life in a completely different way.

“He who is not every day conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

After high school, I searched for a career that would make me happy. I went from wanting to be a police officer to a graphic designer. I didn’t succeed in either, but I don’t regret trying because now I know that neither option was for me. That realization led me down new and exciting paths. After that, I decided to start traveling. I was scared to travel thousands of kilometers to a new country with a completely different language. Learning a new language and adapting to a new culture was challenging, but it was also rewarding. It opened many doors and changed my life completely. Now, at 31, I’ve decided to go back to university to study psychology. Perhaps I’ll fail, or maybe I’ll succeed. I will likely face my dear friend, “failure,” again, but that means I’m trying, experiencing something new, and pushing my limits—and that is living!

Last year, I got my first road bike. I switched to clip-in pedals, the kind where your feet stay attached to the pedals. On my first attempt, I ended up on the ground like a sack of potatoes, but I stood up and tried again until I got used to them. I started biking around, mainly from home to work, sometimes just 15 km a day. Then one day, I decided to bike around an island, a 94 km journey. I thought to myself, “You’re absolutely bananas!” But once again, I decided to do the thing I thought I couldn’t do. Worst case scenario, I’d just stop and turn back. In the end, I completed the entire route. It took me more than five hours; my legs were in such pain that I could barely pedal. But when I arrived, I was so happy I started crying.

I couldn’t believe that someone like me, a self-proclaimed couch potato, had done such a thing. But I did it, and that changed everything. Now, I do the same route like it’s a piece of cake, and I continue pushing my limits. And even though I wouldn’t pass the first stage of the Tour de France, if someone asked me to join, I would definitely try. Why? Because if you don’t try to do the things you think you can’t do, you’re not living your life to the fullest. Even if you fail, you’ll still gain something if you’re willing to see failure not as a dead-end but as an opportunity to learn and experience something new. Now, I love biking and exploring beautiful places. I enjoy pushing my limits—I even bike at home to practice and become faster. This new passion, this new me, is the result of my decision to do the things I thought I couldn’t do.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr., P.S. I Love You

The same happened when I learned to ski last year. On the first day, I fell every single time. I had bruises all over my body, but I kept pushing forward because I wanted to learn. I fell in love with skiing from the beginning, even though it was painful. That’s the key to doing something you think you can’t do: you need to really want to do it, to like, enjoy, and love what you’re doing. Otherwise, what’s the point? And after a few days, I got better and better and discovered a new passion! This year, I even tried ski touring, where you go up the mountain with your skis on your feet and then ski down. I climbed and descended mountains of varying heights in different weather conditions. At first, it was so difficult that I thought I’d never try to climb a mountain on my own again. My heart was pounding, and I felt tired and frustrated. But day by day, I improved, and being on top of a mountain, with that amazing view, and then skiing down, feeling the snow under my skis, is a wonderful sensation I got to experience because I decided to do what I thought I couldn’t do.

The truth is, if you don’t dare to do what you think you can’t do, you’ll never know what you could achieve. Some things can only be accomplished if you’re willing to endure the pain and struggle of doing what you think you can’t in order to achieve extraordinary things.

Do the things you think you cannot do—explore new horizons, discover a whole new world of opportunities, and live your life to the fullest!