The Invisible Mentor

What I Learned From Self-Imposed Limits

October 10th, 2009 |

: Image via Wikipedia

Are we hardwired to automatically place limits on ourselves? We set limits on our earning potential, on how much we can accomplish in life. We are either too young or too old, have too much or too little education and the reasons go on and on about why we cannot do something. Many of us suffer from excusitis. And, I was no different until I started to pay close attention to the stories I tell myself about why I did not honor commitments to myself.

Setting limits have been around for a long time. Take the popular story Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, in recent versions of the story there are only three wishes granted, but in the original story of Aladdin, which is a Middle-Eastern folk tale (found in Arabian Nights: One Thousand and One Nights), there were no limitations on the number of wishes granted. Whose great idea was it to limit the number of wishes granted to three?

A common story that I would tell myself is that I am tired and it is late so I cannot perform a critical task. But when I reframe the story and instead tell myself, yes it is late but the task is important, I find that I get a sudden burst of energy and I am able to perform the task. As soon as I remove the self-imposed limit on how much I can do, my productivity soars and I also accomplish so much more in any given day. The truth is that we can do and be much more than we tell ourselves.

So the next time when you perceive barriers that prevent you from going where you need to go, pause and evaluate the situation to determine if the barrier is a true one, or one you imposed on yourself. You will be surprised how many of the barriers are self-imposed and can be easily removed.

What are your thoughts? Let us keep the conversation going, please leave a comment.

This is a contribution to the Group Writing Project What I Learned from Limits and an entry to contest on Whitney Hoffman’s blog post The Difference Between Listening and Hearing.

Photo credit: Public domain via Wikipedia, Image of Aladdin in the Magic Garden.

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4 Responses to “What I Learned From Self-Imposed Limits”

Robert Hruzek says:

October 11, 2009 at 9:00 am

So very true, Avil; when it comes to any limitations, the biggest battle is always the one up there in the little gray cells, y’know?

Hey, Thanks for the WILF contribution, Avil! A tip o’ the hat to ya!

Whitney Hoffman says:

November 8, 2009 at 10:19 am

Thanks for stopping by and being the first entry into the contest!
Great lesson- I know it’s sometimes hard for people to accept that the limitations they face are largely self-imposed, but once they really “get it” the sky becomes the limit, if any limit exists at all.

Avil Beckford says:

November 8, 2009 at 9:32 pm

That’s a great prize for the contest. . The sky is indeed the limit. I keep on reminding myself about the poem My Wage “I bargained with life for a penny.” This keeps things real for me and is a reminder that I can set my sights quite high. Thanks for your comment.