（Translator’s Note) The following is a translation of a partial excerpt of an article posted on 21 July 2014, from the voluminous RAPT blog posts. The original source can be found at the following URL link.
(Translated text below)
There are people in this world who, when something is pointed out to them, immediately reply, ‘I can’t do that’.
On the face of it, the person lacks confidence and says this because he or she doesn’t believe they are capable.
As a result, the people around him or her will think there is nothing they can say to him or her and give up.
In most cases, however, people who are quick to say ‘I can’t do anything’ are not really lacking in confidence, nor are they really incapable, but are simply arrogant.
If a person sincerely accepts what has been pointed out to them, admits that they are wrong and wants to correct their mistakes, then the words that come out of their mouth will not be ‘I can’t’ but ‘I will try’.
But to immediately reply ‘I can’t’ without saying ‘I’ll try’ is a sign that the person doesn’t sincerely accept the point of view or doesn’t want to accept it, and the reason he or she doesn’t accept it or doesn’t want to accept it is because he or she is proud.
It is not pleasant for anyone to be pointed out by others.
It is rather unpleasant.
However, it is necessary for a person to have the humility to calmly consider that the point may be correct and to accept it.
If you then think that the point does not apply to you, then it probably does not apply to you, in which case you do not need to accept the point.
In fact, you should not accept it.
But if you think the point does apply to you, even a little, then you should humbly accept the point.
It will make you feel more comfortable, and if you are able to correct the points made, people will have a good impression of you.
And the person will be pleased with his or her own progress and will be able to live life more fully.
But if a person cannot have such humility and is unwilling to accept the pointers of others, he will never grow and will continue to be complained about by those around him.
When someone points out something, it is proof that the person has something that needs to be pointed out.
Even if 10 out of 10 people don’t notice the mistake, at least one or two, at worst five, six, or even eight or nine people might notice it and be offended in some way.
And that is very unfortunate for that person.
In fact, it would be happier if the person accepted the point and put it right, but since the person does not (or will not) accept the point, there is nothing that the people around them can do about it.
They will just have to sit back and watch the person become unhappy.
So， if you often find yourself thinking or saying ‘I can’t do that’ when people point it out to you, please stop and think about it calmly.
In the first place, only those who often say ‘I can’t, I can’t’ are often mistaken for humble people.
Thinking ‘I can’t’ is not real humility.
Before you think ‘I can’t’, you should first think seriously about how you can correct that point of view.
That is true humility.
In my experience, people who confidently say ‘I can do it’ are more likely to be humble because they are honestly admitting their mistakes and trying to fix them.
I prefer people who can admit their mistakes from the bottom of their hearts, even if they are a bit overbearing.
If possible, I would like to work with such people.
It’s not just me, it’s everybody.
It is sometimes very difficult to remain humble.
But if you dare to take that difficult road, you are on the road to real success.
