Oh, how we wish we were limitless…
Do you know your own limits? How can you tell when you’ve reached them? When (and how) do you know when you’ve reached them?
I’ve been pondering these things closely for the last few months because I’m afraid I’ve reached a number of limits recently and even stepped over a few either by accident or on purpose.
These aren’t moral or ethical boundaries (so I’m not doing anything illegal) but rather internal metrics and personal systems that help me manage all that I do. They are relational boundaries related to agreements, covenants, or promises (call them what you will) that X, Y, and Z will not happen while A, B, and C will.
One of the #1 ways that I know that I’ve crossed my limits or have started to seriously bump up against them is simply how I feel during the day. Energy is one of those things that’s most readily apparent for me and the lack of it consistently is a tell tale sign.
This is more about mental energy than anything else as I’m able to successfully complete a full day of work like nothing ever happened but as I close down shop I begin to realize that I have nothing left to give for the important efforts toward processing the days events.
Or, if I’m easily distracted and have little energy for ideation and vision casting I know that I’ve reached my limit.
The challenge, of course, is what one should do about it. It’s not easy to simply “turn off” major projects or relationships like you do an application on your iPhone (although I wish it was that easy).
So how do you know when you’ve reached your own limits? Who’s available to tell you the hard truth that you have, in fact, passed them and you’re in dangerous territory?
I think the simple truth to your question people simply don’t know your limits. Only you do and possibly your wife. But that’s not even assured.
While you may have stepped over yours, you at least know where they are and honestly that’s a great piece of knowledge to have.
You can make honest changes in your life that will reflect your boundaries. And you’ll find that you get a lot more done. Distractions and time wasting will diminish because you’ll end up fighting against.
Your most precious everyday commodity is your time.
I have begun incorporating a regular meeting in my calendar. I call it my internal cadence meeting. Just a 10-15 minute quiet time in my day to think about the events of the day, how they affected me and me them. I then conclude with a simple question: “Did today move me closer to my goals and operate in my zone?” Based on my answer, adjust and go again.
This is something that I’m coming up against as I explore more writing opportunities along with trying to climb the proverbial ladder at the office.
One challenge I’m wrestling with is feeling like I need to choose between creative outlets (writing & photography) because of limits on resources like time and money.
I’ve been leaning towards writing only, but my wife has encouraged me to hang on to the camera (Nikon D90) for awhile.
Thanks for all you do.
I know that when I am no longer finding joy in the things I love– I have overstepped my limits. The past few weeks it’s crept in…
How do you recover when this happens?
I know I have reached and passed my limits because I get very grumpy and even crabby. I prevent this by setting boundaries with my calendar and by discussing life and work and whatever with my husband on a regular basis. We keep each other in check.