Can't and Won't

What is the difference between Can't and Won't? To put it simply, the former doesn't give the person-in-question an option to choose. On the other hand, when a person won't do something, it is actually his choice to refuse to undertake a particular action.

A question was posed to us during a 3-day course I attended - What are the things in life you can't have a choice?

Pondering over this simple question made me realised that 'can't' is an overly-abused word, a victimised language to a certain extend. Theoretically, (of course, other than being borned and having to die one day) every action we undertake is indeed our choice. Most people use the word 'can't' because they want to give the impression that they do not have a choice for something they won't do. To put it bluntly - they hope to obtain sympathy and understanding from others.

Very often, we hear remarks like 'I can't have a choice whether I want to pay taxes', 'I can't leave office now as work is just pouring on me' dah dah dah...

If you think harder, all these are nothing but actions one chooses to undertake as he/she does not want to bear the consequences of not doing it.

So next time, before you are too quick to say 'I can't attend your party as I have something on,..', think twice - is it 'You Can't' or 'You Won't'?

Hmm... Any comments?