In popular culture, limitations are never promoted as opportunities but rather as clear and blattant hindrances to freedom, “THE” ultimate goal. While I’m not questioning one can strive for freedom (or whatever they define as freedom), Limitations are a gift that is often neglected. Here are 7 reasons why you can enjoy them :

  1. Bonding: “Having limits” is something everyone shares, and everyone experiences, whatever the context. Admitting you have limits is the first step to learn from others’ experience AND sharing your own.
  2. Gameplay: Every type of limit gives you an unlimited numbers of games to play, whether it ends up in victories or defeat. What will be your game today ? Learning more words in a foreign language ? Beating your 100 meters sprint time ? Have fun going beyond your limits !
  3. Decreased sensationalism: When you understand that every person you admired (or everyone you are impressed by) have limits, you understand beyond sensationalism (sometimes it even increases your admiration) and you tie a more sincere link with the person, establishing a broader channel of inspiration.
  4. Self-knowledge: Knowing your limits, not even trying to beat them, is an incredible resource of self knowledge, which you can use to set on directions in your life. Imagine how your job search would be if you had a clearer understanding of where your limits were.
  5. Something you carry with you all your life: Even if limits can sometimes be beaten one by one, the fact of having limits is something you carry absolutely all your life. Whether you become genius-billionaire-philantropist or dumb-poor-beggar, you still have this fact as a reference in your life. Again, it can guide your decisions by removing the mental path of the “dream situations where everything is good” (and the “nightmare situation where everything is bad”). This facts helps you understand that balance will always exist, and it is reassuring.
  6. Something neither money, power, gifts, talents can bring you: You cannot look for new personal limits : they have always been here, uncovered because of your limited experience in testing them. Therefore, it is not something you can buy, or earn, you just have them, and discover them out of any “negotiation” pressure.
  7. A stepping stone for learning: If you enjoy learning, you understand well that there is no learning without acknowledgement (or stumbled-upon awareness) of your current limits. You can therefore enjoy understanding them as the “step 0″ of your learning path.

Learn to moderate, it teaches you patience, regulate your enthusiasm and set limits (that you may break afterwards). I have myself the recurring default of burning my wings like Icarus, whether by training too much, showing too much enthusiasm in relationships, working too hard (and produce useless content)…this post is the lesson of moderation applied to the blog, I hope you’ll make the most of it in other aspects of your life !

Have a smiling day !

smiling lizard