Why we can do anything we want if we say “we can”

Forget Westlife’s infamous “flying without wings”, it’s all about Jessica Cox flying without arms and why it inspires Freya Turner. 

We all have days where we tell ourselves we can’t do things. 25 year old Jessica Cox is an example of someone who goes literally above and beyond the word ‘can’t’. (You’ll get the reference in a bit)! Born without arms, she drives a car, plays the piano, has two black belts in Tae Kwon-Do, and oh yeah, flies planes. She is in fact the first woman in history to fly with her feet. How? One foot is on the controls, while the other is gently controlling the steering column. Not only can she master flying, she excels at it. Her flying instructor says how some pilots come nowhere close to her ability.

This really enlightened me. Although you may naturally feel disadvantaged to do as well as someone else, it is likely you will actually do better than them. Perhaps we should all stop worrying about what other people are doing. It is more than likely that that dreaded essay everybody else seems to have under control may in fact give you an A and your classmates a D!

Jessica believes that “through creativity and recognizing there is more than one way to do something... I figured it would be best to buckle the seatbelt first before sitting down.” It is unsurprising that Jessica is now known around the world as an inspirational speaker.

Although it may sound clichéd, I’m going to try to take a leaf out of Jessica’s book and try to tell myself I “can” on “can’t” days.

How Not To Farm

These are all real life experiences about farming life

Working hard, driving the tractor down the hill, then BANG. Sinking in the mud, not being able to move, and then the tractor tips, being held up by a tree. This is why you concentrate when driving a 120 horse power vehicle. Climb out the back window, the window shuts  after, and the keys are locked in…. Then falling over in the muddy puddle…. That was a good day.

Walking around the show ring at a farm show, this is make or break, the judge is looking, so stand up and make everything look the best possible. The judge comes to ask questions and all that is said is “can you hold this a for second”,  passed the judge the cow with a chance of winning and throw up over the fence… it was The National Competition, chance of being the best, and that failed.

It shouldn't have been too bad, I mean, just like getting ears pierced. That is all it was, a quick little ear tag, so the pig could go away, the brothers and sisters were good as gold. But there is always one, it is    cornered, stand on one leg to catch it, but it runs into the one on the ground, flipped over on the ground, in a pile of mud… never to be lived down.

Its not even dawn and there is work to be done: milking, feeding, mucking out, fairly easy and simple, yes? Get up at 4:30, not to be late for College, walk down the yard, to find all the cows, had escaped from the field. All alone, herding 50 cows back into the field…. That is mission impossible Tom Cruise.