When I first heard about the power of yet, it resonated with me so much. I could tell that adding that simple word “yet” to a seemingly negative statement would truly change my perspective. How many times do you want to give up because you can’t do something “yet”? Or something doesn’t turn out they way you expect it to the first time you try?
So, what is “the power of yet”?
Think about these statements for a minute.
“I can’t do this.” vs “I can’t do this yet.”
“I don’t understand.” vs “I don’t understand this yet.”
“I’m not good at this.” vs ” “I’m not good at this yet.”
“This doesn’t make sense.” vs “This doesn’t make sense yet.”
In college I realized just how much I love to cook and bake. I would have Sunday dinners with my roommates and we would invite friends to join us. Most of the time I was able to make meals and desserts without fail. That being said, I recall one experience where I attempted to make lemon bars from scratch. Unfortunately they didn’t set properly after baking. I figured baking them for longer would help with that. Nope! The longer I baked them the more they just shrunk in the pan. Not that it would have mattered anyway, but I kept checking the directions for any missed steps or anything that would have indicated I did something wrong. To this day I have no idea what happened or why they didn’t turn out the way I expected them to. After that experience it was boxed lemon bars for me for a VERY long time; longer than I’d like to admit.
I could have given up completely and NEVER attempted again. However, I’m little bit of a recipe junkie and, years later, I really wanted to try making lemon bars from scratch again; the box bars just aren’t the same as homemade. I found several recipes and chose one to make for a family gathering. I double and triple checked that I was following the directions to the T and baked them. When the timer went off, I pulled them out of the oven. They looked great! And guess what? They tasted incredible! The flavor was intense, just the way I like them. I have made them several times since then and they are just as good as I remember. Had I refused to make them again because of my very first experience, I never would have been able to share the amazing lemon bars with my family. Sure, I may have stumbled upon someone else’s homemade lemon bars but they won’t have been my own.
Was I able to make lemon bars from scratch in college? NO! I just couldn’t make them YET.
Before you give up, ask yourself if it’s something you really want to do. If the answer is YES, then be gentle with yourself. Remind yourself that you “can’t make lemon bars YET”. Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Keep trying. Don’t give up. Remember that you are still learning. Allow yourself that space to grow and improve.
This is the power of “yet”.