One word you shouldn’t say in 2026

Many of us make New Year’s resolutions, yet few keep them.  Many plan to lose weight. Others desire to break some stubborn habit. Some long for business opportunities or career advancement.  People mean well, they intend to change, but somehow life overwhelms them and, in a short time, it’s back to business as usual.

Nobody wants to fail. Sometimes it’s easier not to try than to suffer failure.  However, there is a biblical perspective to remember.  Philippians 4.13 states: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Therefore, the word we should ban from our vocabulary is “can’t.” We use it all the time.  We say, “I can’t lose weight.” “I can’t stop smoking.” “I can’t achieve that career goal.” 

I once told a friend that he should never fail to undertake a challenge because he thought he would not succeed, yet I fell prey to the “I can’t” syndrome. For 20 years, I wanted to write “Pride of the Panthers,” and to do so during the life of Coach Eric Staples, yet I felt incapable of accomplishing such a daunting task. 

The Staples’ era spanned 32 years of Perry High basketball, from 1933 to 1965, plus the Coach Paul Hartman years of 1966-69. Where would I obtain the historical information and the photos?  If the information were available, could I organize and synthesize it into one coherent book? 

After many years of saying “I can’t,” one day a small, still voice spoke to my heart, directing me to write the book—that, if I didn’t, the legendary story of Perry’s basketball dynasty would be lost forever.  Needless to say, I responded and God provided the wherewithal for me to write and publish the book.

Many reading this article need to forgive someone who offended them. Others need to start going to church. Some need to find time to read the Bible. But negative thoughts will prevent them. 

An inspiring example is the story of “The Little Engine That Could.”  The boys and girls in the town on the opposite side of a big mountain were waiting for the train to bring their toys. But its engine broke down. The engineer went to the roundhouse and talked to several engines, but no one was interested including the big diesel locomotive that preferred not to haul toys. 

Then from a corner came a voice, “I’ll do it.” 

It was a little switch engine. “I’ll carry the train with the toys over the mountain to the boys and girls on the other side.” 

“But you’re much too small.” 

“I’m willing to give it a try.”  

So they hooked the little engine up to the boxcars with the toys. The little engine began to gather steam for its climb up the mountain. As it gathered speed, “The Little Engine That Could” began to say, “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.” 

Up the mountain it went. Straining with every ounce of energy, the train cleared the crest and started down the other side. In the distance the children were cheering and waving and dancing with delight. 

In today’s world, there are many on the other side of the mountain: some facing marital mountains, some financial mountains, some career mountains, some spiritual mountains. The mountain seems so high, so forbidding, that they are tempted to give up without even trying. Place your trust in God and He will allow you to climb that mountain.