I was reading a blog article this morning on 40 tips for a better life. It was full of snippets that we’ve all heard before but are great reminders none-the-less. One of the items struck me though. Not because I find it to be true. But because it is what most people do, and what I refuse to follow.
The item was:
Don’t overdo. Know your limits.
Now, an argument could easily be made for not overdoing things that really don’t matter. I think we all can get caught up in stuff that, in the long run, really doesn’t make a meaningful difference. And if that’s the case, I whole-heartedly agree…”don’t overdo.” But the second part of the tip – “Know your limits” – tells me that is not what the original author had in mind.
The truth is we all have B.S. excuses that we say to ourselves all the time. And sometimes we need to be called out on it. Excuses and rationalizations are just ways of setting limits and leading a mediocre existence. There is no greatness in that. There is no inspiration. There is no passion. It’s simply going through the motions of work or life. Is that what you want?
Do you realize how often these lame excuses hold you down? The answer is every single day. Before you bristle in defiance and think to yourself, “Well, maybe that’s true for other people, but not me,” let me challenge you with a dose of self-awareness.
Do you ever say:
- There aren’t enough hours in the day.
- I’m not good at that.
- I can’t do that because…
- That’s too hard.
- I’m too old (or tired).
- I don’t have enough money.
- I need to wait until…
The reason I do the work I do is to help people shatter their limits and recognize that their excuses are keeping them from recognizing their true greatness. Yes, greatness. We all have it. In fact, I believe that it’s our job to realize it. But that’s hard when we get stuck in believing that this is as good as it gets. It’s hard when our attitude is “Know your limits.”
Let me be very clear. If you’re living right, your limits are shifting all the time. You’re bumping up against them, you’re testing them and you’re breaking through. It’s a ongoing process.
The only time you get to “know your limits” is when you accept them as the way things are. And you accept yourself, with no aspirations beyond your self-defined limits. You settle in and get comfortable. Welcome to the Land of Status Quo. It’s easy. It’s safe. And it’s so B-O-R-I-N-G!
I’m usually hired to come in and do some specific training for a team. Whether it’s sales training or time management or some other skill building, I explain to the manager that I can do whatever it is they are hiring me for, but I INSIST on spending time on the front-end of any of my training by breaking some mental barriers that the individuals in the group have. It’s ironic because when I give the decision-maker a list of all the topics I can cover in a session, they will never pick this one and it is by far the most important thing I do.
There is a simple reason why I’ve made it a cornerstone of my work. I can provide great content and the most awesome training in the world, but if someone doesn’t BELIEVE he can achieve something because of whatever self-imposed limits he has, then we’ll be spinning our wheels.
After my training is done, without fail, the client who hired me “gets it.” He will concur that busting limits was critical for opening up the minds of his team for the rest of the training. I almost always get a response like, “This is EXACTLY what we needed.”
So here are some questions for you and your team to answer:
- What’s holding you back?
- What are you afraid of, think you can’t do, view as too hard, etc.?
- How long have you felt that way? Why do you feel that way?
- What belief is anchoring that perception?
- What can you do to shift that belief?
- How will your life/work change when you do?
Once you understand your limits, forget “knowing” them. Go make them your b*tch!
