Understanding and working with your limitations.

We’re human. Shocking I know. But it’s a fact I forget sometimes.

The problem of an infinite mind being housed in a finite shell.

Our imaginations stretch far, our ambitions set high, and if you’re as delusional as me, you seek to realise everything you see (which we tend to do).

Or maybe you’ve tried to follow the grindset advice you hear online.

Either way, a problem arises when we consistently try to do too much in too little time.

We forget our limitations, which we’re bound by, and try to work past them, inevitably reaching burnout.

The better alternative is to understand our limits and work with them.

We have limitations 

Here are three of our limits. I’m sure there are many more.

1. You are limited to your biology

You can only push your body so far.

Most people walk into the realm of fitness with unrealistic expectations, probably because of social media.

They think they can dissolve fat, pack on muscle, and obtain a crazy physique quick.

But, naturally anyways, it isn’t possible. 

Those unrealistic expectations inevitably lead to disappointment when reality eventually hits.

I’ve done that many times over the years.

At one point, I wanted to melt fat faster, so I took up boxing.

I was weight training with high volume for six days a week, with five hours on the treadmill, and two boxing sessions.

I could only keep it up for a month.

You can only push your body so hard for so long before it’ll quit.

2. The brain is powerful, but limited 

I heard something like the following in a Modern Wisdom podcast: the brain is a supercomputer with only a tiny amount of RAM.

That’s an analogy to say the brain can process large amounts of information, but it can only focus on one or two things at a time. 

To add on top of that, it’s also an unplugged laptop. 

Using it drains the battery, and eventually it needs recharging. 

What I’m saying is you can only work your brain hard on one or two tasks per day until it begins to run out of charge.

Then it’ll run inefficently on low power mode before turning off completely.

3. We are subject to the passage of time

There’s a limit to how much you can do in an hour, in a day, in a week, and in your life.

Let’s say you’re working a 9 to 5 and you’re thinking about losing weight as well as starting a side hustle. 

You're faced with a choice: going to the gym, working on your side hustle, or doing both.

For the sake of explanation, let’s make it really simple. 

It takes 1 year to lose weight and 1 year for your side hustle to succeed, the only factor influencing success is time.

Losing weight and then getting your side hustle to work takes 2 years.

Getting your side hustle to work and then losing weight takes 2 years.

Dividing your time between both will take 2 years (or even longer due to “hand over” time).

There isn’t enough time to do it all at once.

We must prioritise.

Working with our limitations

We’re bound by our limits.

Sure, we have a soft limit and a hard limit, and over time we can stretch them.

But there’s a limit to how far we can stretch our limits. 

And our limits today are our limits today. 

So, as far as the present moment is concerned, your limits are final.

The solution to that problem is simple: accept them.

Know your upper bound, quantify it if it helps, and set that as the target for the day.

Examples include an hour of intense weight training or four hours of deep work.

If you hit those upper bounds for the day, consider the day a win, and accept that you can do no more without incurring negative future returns in the long run. 

Trust in the power of compounding and learn to relax. 

You’ve done all that you can ask of yourself today.

Rest and get ready to do the same again tomorrow. 

The Danger of This Advice

The issue with this is, you must first learn your limits by pushing them.

This advice is designed for people who are pushing themselves past their limits. 

They feel like they’re being optimal and productive, but in reality, doing less would actually help them do more.

It’s for the people who spend two hours in the gym and then attempt to spend the rest of the day running at zone 3. 

They’re not giving themselves time to recover. 

Every day that passes is another day closer to burnout. 

If, on the other hand, you’re someone that struggles with procrastination, doing less and finding balance is the last thing you need to hear.

Right now, you’re not even in the gym, you’re stuck on standby.

You need to grab that remote, turn the TV off, and boot yourself up.

Take that first step, overcome impatience and inconsistency, then continue to optimise.

You’ll know when you need to hear the word “relax”.

But that time isn’t right now. 

Want To Reach Your Next Phase?

I lost 50 kg and took back control over my life.

I’ll help you do the same.