Monday, September 20, 2010

no limits, i promise

I think limits are natural, and a defense mechanism. They keep us from doing something dangerous or stupid that could land us in, say, the hospital for, say, trying to leap from the second story of a building just to see what'll happen when we land.

But limits can be dangerous, too, I think.

For instance, I mentioned in my about page that I want to be athletic, but that I'd assumed for a long time it was something I couldn't expect for myself. Why? Because I had this notion that it was out of my reach; beyond my limits.

It's not like I'd ever actually attempted to be athletic and failed, though. And I certainly hadn't attempted it over and over and failed, the way you really should to understand that something is off-limits to you.

I just put a little wall between me and this thing, and I decided it wasn't worth trying to overcome (because, remember? I'm lazy).

So no more limits. Even when things get hard. Because if I establish limits, I establish the points at which I'm willing to give up.

practically speaking?
- Practically speaking, it means I'm aiming for the stars with that 18% body fat goal (the lady athletes come in at between 14% and 20% body fat);

- practically speaking, it means I'm going to push harder when I'm ready to quit (Patrick and I did a 14-mile bike ride Sunday; I climbed hills with my butt *out* of the seat, even though I hate doing it);

- and practically speaking, it means on bad days, when I think having a bad day means I'm not good enough to make this work, I'm just gonna shut the fuck up and put that bullshit in its place.

2 comments:

  1. "I'm just gonna shut the fuck up and put that bullshit in its place."

    Amen! It takes an extraordinary amount of mental effort and control to turn off the part of your brain that says, "I can't, I can't", but it's totally worth it!

    The key for me is to not argue with it. If I argue, I always lose because trying to come up with arguments against that little voice is legitimizing its existence and acknowledging it as a being with power as great or greater than my own.

    You have to put that little voice in its proper place: kissing your feet in apologetic silence ;).

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love that comparison! That voice *isn't* worth acknowledging. It *is* smaller than I am.

    This is a continual battle, but I'm finding it easier to decide I'll just try whatever challenging thing is ahead of me. And even go out and find challenges.

    ReplyDelete