What limitations do you put on yourself and others? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.
“If you see the world in black and white, you’re missing important grey matter.”
“We all have our limitations but when we listen to our critics we also have theirs.”
Where do you ignore your limits? How might you honor them today?
Image from Unsplash by Guillaume de Germain
I played a good bit of tennis in grade school and high school. I was very steady, and consistent in my ability to run down and return most shots. My primary strategy was to keep a rally going until my opponent either got frustrated and beat themselves, or crushed me by hitting winners.
Fast forward a few decades and add some pounds and a bit of arthritis and knee pain.
These days my racket endeavors to keep the blood flowing and my competitive spirit engaged are focused on ping pong. With a little more rehab, I’m pretty sure the possibilities of pickle ball are in my future!
Where have you recently discovered some of your own limitations?
What new possibilities and potential are you discovering to pivot and keep the pep in your step?
Image from Unsplash by Jr Korpa
Growing up my family lived in a very modest row house in Philadelphia. My dad was a physical education teacher and my mom worked as a receptionist at Temple University Hospital.
The majority of our summers were spent at Camp Indian Lake in the Pocono Mountains, where my dad happily worked as the camp’s director. On hot summer days when we were home and before school was back in session, we were always looking for things to do. One day when I must have been getting on my mom’s last nerve, she handed me a plastic bucket filled with water and an old paint brush and told me to go outside and paint the cement wall and driveway out back. Given the scorching heat it took less than a minute for the water to evaporate and offer me another blank canvas for my artistic pursuits.
Where and how can and do your see limits on your resources as opportunities to get creative? Please reply to this post to share some examples from your own life that bring a smile to your face.
Image from Unsplash by André Bandarra
Where in your personal or professional life have your competitive spirit and ability to push yourself served you or set you back?
There are two sides to this coin, and sometime realizing our limitations can be liberating and transformative.
By embracing our limits, we can often more fully experience each moment with greater awareness and clarity before we take our next step.
Where are you currently bumping up against a limitation where you feel stuck or stopped?
Where might honoring this closed door reveal a different opening or possibility you never considered?
Image from Unsplash by Kyle Brinker
Did you know that if you place a bunch of fleas in a jar with a glass lid they will eventually stop trying to jump out even if you remove the lid?
Glass ceilings — and ceilings in general — seem to be a fact of life where the world and even we, ourselves, place limits on how high and how far we can soar.
What do some of these limitations sound like when you hear them from family members, friends, colleagues and even your own inner voice?
In recent years, people have pursued their own personal and professional paths, cleared of many of these ceilings, letting new horizons and sunnier futures of their own creation occur.
Where in your worlds are you limited by glass ceilings?
How can you courageously break through these barriers to have a custom-made house, built just for you?
Image from Unsplash by SEP
One of the very first personal development programs I attended in my early twenties was Dr. Wayne Dyer’s How to Be A No-Limit Person.
I had recently graduated from college, was just married and entering the working world with great anticipation and excitement. Dyer’s message of being a no-limit person was just the boost I needed to bring my full energy, enthusiasm, and drive to my efforts.
Along the way, I ran into numerous professional and personal speed bumps.
Doubts and discouragement definitely caused me to not shoot as often or as high as before.
Unfortunately, I also began listening to others who put a few more mental barriers in my way, based on their own self-imposed limitations and biases.
Where and on what personal or professional matter are you being limited by your own views or the views of others?
What bold and courageous actions can and will you take to be the no-limit person you want to be?
Image from beyouonlybetter.com
We all want to be ‘right’ – to have the correct answer, to know the truth. We think that will bring us clarity, stability, and peace of mind.
But what if being ‘right’ only serves to put us in a safe and limiting box?
When we define something, we limit it. Perhaps we could instead distinguish ourselves by being open to the possibility of who we could be rather than placing limits on who we are.
How and in what ways can you disengage from self-limiting beliefs?
If you find this difficult, ask a family member or close friend for their perspective.
photo from wonderfulengineering.com
When was the last time you had a conversation with a friend, colleague, or family member in which they responded to a statement with “I know”? Not the “I know” that is agreeing with the statement. This is the “I Know!” that indicates they have fundamentally stopped listening and have stuffed what you are saying into a pre-existing black/white category in their mind.
Ask those in your life how often you step into this “I Know” world — we all do this to help simplify our lives and navigate our world with greater ease. Alternatively, as Fyock suggests, we may be missing much of life by not using all of our grey matter to experience the many shades of grey an expansive and diverse life can offer.
Imagine you were an artist who only had black and white paint to work with, and there was a rule forbidding you from mixing them together.
Now remove this limitation and paint away.
How can reducing your black and white “I Know” thinking expand your cerebral canvas to lead a more diverse and expansive life?