Certain responses are conditioned into people, including what might be my least favorite knee-jerk reaction: "I could never do that."
In the past nine months, as we've gone public with The Power of Half, that might be the response we hear the most in reaction to our decision to cut our living space in half and give half the proceeds to charity. Usually, the phrase is said with a smile and a marveling at how our family is a bit nuts. And, I might add, I hear "I could never do that" most frequently from people of means, including Wall Street traders.
The "I could never do that" reply triggers two thoughts for me -- one that I say and one that I keep to myself. The one I say is this: "We're not asking you to sell your house; we're only suggesting that you determine what you have more than enough of, then cut that one thing in half so that you can share with others. Time, talent, treasure, you decide."
The one I don't say is this: "I am almost certain you can; you don't choose to." Let me quickly say that in extreme cases (job loss, family illness, etc) the choice of living with half a house might be impractical. But for many people, we've just made choices, settled into a life of comfort. There's nothing wrong with that, if it makes you happy.
What is wrong, though, is believing that it would be impossible to change your mindset. We have more power than that. We have more creativity than that. What's your half?