Personal limitations help us understand ourselves better.
Please discuss. How does this play out in life?
I’ll start us out? Most of us have ways in which we’re less than we’d like to be. Physical injuries or impairments, emotional issues, learning disabilities, chronic health issues, psychological conditions, cognitive impairment—many of us have one or more of these problems, limiting what we’re capable of to some degree. It’s frustrating and sometimes demoralizing. Parts of us want to do things that other parts of us can’t deliver.
It’s hard to accept that we’re not all we would wish to be. Sometimes we’re resigned to the lessening of ourselves and narrow our existence to accommodate the issue. Sometimes we rail against our imperfection, having difficulty coming to terms with it. We may become resentful, depressed, or self-destructive. Yet other times, we explore parts of ourselves, our possibilities and capabilities, that we might otherwise not have tapped. Our limitations push us to expand in new directions.
Today’s message calks me to ponder my own responses to personal limitations. How have I allowed them to circumscribe my existence? What are my emotional reactions and are they healthy for me? How have I branched out in new ways as a result of being stymied in others? What do the answers to these questions tell me about my inner workings? I can leverage my restrictions to expand my self-awareness.
How about you? How have personal limits influenced your life and how do you treat yourself as a result?