Should You Loathe Your Limits?

Everyone talks about testing their limits; I’ve lived my life doing that. The phrase evokes mental images of lifting something heavy or achieving some other massive feat. If we’re not careful, we might overlook a vital fact about the words: you will eventually meet your limits.

So are limits the enemy? Of course not. No matter how strong or healthy we are, our bodies are programmed with limits and ways we can adapt to them. For instance, our temperature is regulated to ensure our organs aren’t compromised. We sweat to cool off and shiver to warm up. If we’re not built to be limitless, why do we expect to be?

Regardless of the reason, we’re just about born with that inclination. One of the first words we learn is usually “No,” and we often resent that. It’s a reminder of our limits, and even at that age, we don’t want any. We should have unlimited abilities and privileges, otherwise we’re missing out. As time goes by, we realize what we were missing out on was nothing but trouble.

As painful as discovering our limits can be, they’re essential, not only to our safety, but also to our learning process. While I enjoyed a good childhood in many ways, a lot of my memories are entangled with frustration. Despite being born with Cerebral Palsy, I never viewed myself as disabled and always tried to do everything my peers did. But, of course, my attempts exposed my limitations. Like most kids, I kept hoping I’d one day grow into the activity, but in many cases, I never did.

Although I don’t cherish those experiences, I’ve come to appreciate the value in them. In truth, I needed to go through them so that I could sort out what wouldn’t work for me and move on to what would. For example, I used to want so badly to learn how to ride a regular bicycle. That never happened, but my loving parents decided to let me try a golf cart, which afforded me the freedom I was craving in a bike—but with more speed! Hence, my limitation in one area didn’t hinder me from thriving in another one.

Besides the limitless expectations we place on ourselves, sometimes others can add pressure to make us push past our limits, whether they do so intentionally or not. This can compound our own inadequacies, as it can make one feel like nothing’s enough and limits aren’t allowed. How do we cope with such predicaments?

There’s no one size fits all approach. Different people react in different ways, and a lot depends on the situation. However, it helps to keep in mind that everybody has limits, even the ones who seem to deny us any. They might not admit theirs and we often can’t point them out to them, but just acknowledging it to ourselves can alleviate some of the pressure. It gives a more balanced outlook and helps us calmly state or merely accept that we can’t meet their expectations to the fullest degree.

We should all test our limits and may surprise ourselves with how far they actually stretch. When we ultimately reach them, however, we shouldn’t consider it a dead-end but rather a detour that may lead us to a better destination than we mapped out. After all, even vehicles have brakes, but engaging them doesn’t mean a machine has failed. On the contrary, they preserve its integrity and create a more pleasant ride.

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