You can’t touch this
You can’t touch this
You can’t touch this
You can’t touch this
My, my, my, my
(You can’t touch this)
Music hits me so hard
Makes me say “Oh, my Lord
Thank you for blessing me
With a mind to rhyme and two hyped feet”
It feels good when you know you’re down
A super dope homeboy from the Oaktown
And I’m known as such
And this is a beat, uh, you can’t touch
I told you, homeboy
You can’t touch this
Yeah, that’s how we livin’, and ya know
You can’t touch this
Look in my eyes, man
You can’t touch this
Yo, let me bust the funky Iyrics
You can’t touch this
U Can’t Touch This – MC Hammer. 1990.
The other day, I headed home from my office in Dickson, TN. I always keep an eye on the clock. If I leave anytime between 3 and 3:30, there is a good chance I will get stuck behind a school bus.
I crossed my fingers as I left the office at 3:20. When I turned onto Yellow Creek Road, it looked clear. This is a good thing as there is a 17-mile drive on it to get home. Then, out of nowhere, a Dickson County school bus turned right abruptly and ended up in front of me. No warning. And then it started. Every 50 feet the bus stopped to let kids off. Just then, U Can’t Touch This played on my playlist.
“How fitting,” I thought as the bus appeared to completely disregard any coming traffic as it cut in front of me. “You get plenty of leeway from drivers and you still cut me off? I guess you think I ‘can’t touch this!’”
Yes, I know you’re probably shaking your head right now. And I can hear Barb wifesplaining this to me:
“Mack, the school buses have kids on them, and they have to stop traffic on both sides to protect the kids. You need to be more patient with people!”
I know that. I agree with that. It still annoys me though when a short trip home takes 15 minutes longer with all the starts and stops. And God help you if this happens in the morning. At least in the afternoon, the kids sprint off the bus. In the morning, they drag themselves onto the bus in slow motion.
Years ago, I saw something similar when I would drive on the campus of Naval Hospital Bethesda. Employees (not patients) would step into the crosswalks at the absolute last second, almost daring drivers to hit them. It’s as if they thought there was an invisible force field that would protect them. Of course, if a driver wasn’t paying attention, there would be little left of the pedestrian.
The attitude of “can’t touch this” also happens to overconfident athletes. That’s what leads to underdogs to shock the favored team or athlete. I’ve seen it happen in boxing over and over. Formerly unstoppable fighters come in overconfident and then are surprised when the opponent doesn’t roll over.
We might experience this professionally. After years of success, we might think we’re untouchable. But all it takes is a chain reaction of events and it can all come tumbling down. I’ve had it happen multiple times. I think I’m doing a great job facilitating a cohort or workshop only to get a piece of critical feedback that quickly makes me realize that yeah, I can be touched.
So, this week, think about times when you thought you were untouchable. What happened that changed this perception? What are you doing now to prevent it from happening again?
Maybe the best advice is to NEVER assume U Can’t Touch This. Trust me. None of us are untouchable.