Doing what can't be done

We're born to do what can't be done. So declares Samsung in their latest television commercial depicting everything from a baby captured on video taking first steps to an amputee using VR technology to envision the process of taking her steps.

Although meant to sell products— the idea is so powerful it cannot be contained in one message and one medium.

Is it human nature to want to do what can't be done? Are we motivated by a dream, a quest or the sheer awareness that despite fear and the risk of failure it is critical to try or run the risk of getting left disappointingly behind?

Doing what can't be done is what 2018 might be remembered for when we sing Auld Lang Syne next December. It is an undeniable concept that comes at just the right time. It is perfect given the hundreds of Olympians who have beat the odds in Pyeongchang, South Korea to bring home the medals. It is a battle cry that is underscored by the thousands of students demanding school safety in the wake of the Parkland, Florida tragedy. It is a mantra for us all whenever we are gripped with anxiety— either move forward or stay frozen and still.

Without being able to pinpoint its origin, I have always been best motivated when I am told, "you can't." It's not that I have experienced negativity or total dysfunction in my household, nor was I the bravest one on the block. Sometimes for the rational thinkers among us, what I wanted to do just seemed impossible. But tell me I can't?

Watch me.

Jason Gay, a writer for the Wall Street Journal recently wrote an article about Mikaela Shiffrin, the Olympic Alpine skier who finished fourth in the Women's Slalom— an event she typically dominates. In part he wrote, ". . . She will be back. You learn a lot more about the greatest athletes in the setbacks than in the victories.”

So accept the failures strewn among the successes. There's always going to be guts and heart, focus and trust to guide the way. And the best part? Just when we begin to believe, just when we take our first steps to do what can't be done, there will be that shining moment when we close the distance a little more between the dreaded "I can't" and the exulted "I can".

A contributing writer to the Herald since 2012, Lauren Lev is an East Meadow resident and a direct marketing/advertising executive who teaches advertising and marketing communications courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY, LIU Post and SUNY Old Westbury. 

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