Should you ignore limits?

Ignore Your Limits? Really?

Know your personal limits. I feel a strong pull to say something about the call to action in this picture! While the point in this ad is to motivate people to exercise and push through when they feel like giving up, the message resonates so closely as a metaphor for what is becoming a concerning public reality.

From what we observe in our culture today, it’s clear too many people are ignoring their limits.

Last week this life size advertisement was the first thing members were greeted with when entering the gym. While it accomplished the initial goal of motivating me, it also prompted me to consider the bigger picture of society ignoring our limits and how this can lead to some serious life-altering consequences.

In my #authenticaim, the truth it that I have definitely been guilty of ignoring personal limits. Like so many of us, pushing myself hard is somewhat akin to a personal pastime. Nine months ago, however, because of an ingrained determination to never give up, I continued playing tennis with torn tendons and ended up needing elbow surgery. This was a classic act now, pay later scenario.

For the youth of today, ignoring their limits is a frightening consideration. As parents to an 18 and 16-year-old, we are hyper aware of the spiral effect that can occur when kids go beyond their limits. As adults, surely we have all made decisions to push past the proverbial “yellow caution tape” and each have our own stories on how that worked out.

I could pen 10 more sentences on specific limits that should not be pushed, but I aim to be inspirational and therefore will ask you to consider the following:

• Know your personal limits.??
• Anticipate temptation… .with an exit strategy…before it occurs.➡️
• Understand your body’s difference between peak performance & burn out.??
• Choose relationships with those who will honor your limits and not guilt you into crossing the line. ?‍♀️??‍♂️
• Sleep, Eat, Breathe, Pray/Meditate, Write/Journal. ??????
• And finally, as a wise person once said to me… “When things aren’t going the way you want them to, take into consideration that sometimes it’s just a NO.” Accepting that has been very freeing for me at times.