What are your limitations today?
I pose this question because what we think of as our limitations have a big influence of what we actually do in a day and whether or not we feel guilty about not doing ‘enough’. We get into trouble when we expect our limitations are different than they really are. This can actually go both directions too. We can expect we can do more than we can or we can expect that we’re only capable of less. Both directions can get us into trouble.
When we expect that our limitations are higher than they really are it’s easy to beat ourselves up when we don’t live up to what we think we should be doing. When we think our limitations are lower we sell ourselves short and don’t accomplish all that we could.
The thing that is really important to realize is that are limitations are always changing.
It’s easy to think that because we had certain limitations yesterday that we have the same ones today. This is not the case.
Sometimes we’re capable of more. We grow. We learn new things. We become more confident. Our boundaries expand. Things that once scared us don’t anymore. We become stronger. We become smarter. Things that we once weren’t capable of may actually now be within reach if only we stretch out our hands.
Sometimes we’re capable of less. We become sick or get injured. We get older and our bodies suffer from it. We’re going through a time of stress and don’t have the energy we sometimes do. We feel depressed or anxious. We have other responsibilities taking up our resources. We’re tired from a bad night’s sleep. Things that may have been easy a few days or months ago may be beyond our reach.
Our limitations are different both day to day and year to year. There’s good days and bad days. We evolve as people over our life times.
The dangerous thing is that sometimes we don’t consciously recognize that our limitations have changed. Then we’re expecting more or less of ourselves than is realistic. These expectations cause trouble.
Examples of this are all over. People that were once poor that continue to deprive themselves of material comforts even after they has amassed a ton of wealth. People that continue to blame their childhood for their problems all through their adult lives. People that won’t take scary steps to advance in their careers because they don’t have the confidence that they can grow into a new position.
I can think of examples in my life right now. I feel frustrated that my physical limitations in pregnancy are different than they were six months ago. Instead I should be giving myself credit for doing what I can within my current set of limitations. My brain simply hasn’t really adapted to the fact that my limitations are simply lower than they once were.
I also have experienced thinking my limitations are lower than they are in some areas. During the first three to four months of my pregnancy I had awful morning sickness. I was extremely nauseous most of the time. I couldn’t keep up with a lot of my good habits and routines. It felt like all I could do to get through the day. When I started feeling better, my expectations for what I could do in a day didn’t automatically return to their prior levels. It’s taken a little time to build back up the good habits and routines.
Are you expecting too much of yourself today when you should be cutting yourself a little slack? Or are you expecting too little of yourself today when you could be doing so much more?
What are your limitations today?
