Whether you say you can't or you can, you're right.

The saying points to the self-fulfilling power of belief: declaring “I can’t” often functions as a decision to stop trying, while declaring “I can” commits a person to effort, learning, and persistence. In that sense, the statement is less about objective ability than about mindset shaping outcomes—expectations influence motivation, risk-taking, and resilience. It is frequently used as encouragement in business and self-help contexts to emphasize personal agency and the practical consequences of pessimism versus confidence. However, as commonly circulated, it is also a simplified maxim that can overlook structural constraints and genuine limits.

1) “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right.”
2) “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”