I wanted to say no, but I did not want to present false hope. While it was always possible, the student had much to work on for their foundations. I could not present false hope, and demotivate the student even more.

Instead I replied with “if you think it’s too late, it’s too late.” Later on I refined this statement to be “What you believe in the ceiling of what you will achieve.”

The belief of ‘I can’t do this’ drains you. It takes away your energy and focus from what you can perform. Don’t entertain it. Giving up is akin to having a show end when the main characters face a conflict. Where’s the show in that? Where’s the development in the characters?

How then, do we move from ‘I can’t’ to ‘I can’?

In the rush to attend to the challenge, you may choose some which are too much for you. Don’t fall into the trap of rushing headlong into it, not give up from there. Pick something slightly easier. It puts you still in the learning zone, so you will eventually rise up to the challenge.

If there is still trouble, pick the smallest possible piece of the challenge. Conquer that. You get motivated. Pick up a slightly larger piece. Overcome that too. You go from ‘I can’t’ to ‘I can’.