Limits
When does self awareness become complacency and cowardess?
Some of the worst people in our history lacked self awareness - no one ever sees themselves as evil.
On the other side of that some of our best people kept pushing themselves past their limitations to achieve great things.
But then there’s another group I call the William Hungs of society. They think they can overcome limitations that they cannot. Their endless futile efforts are at worst mocked publicly and at best are just really sad.
So how can we be self aware, push ourselves to grow, but not become Hitler or William Hung?
When does dedication, commitment, and resolve become obsession, obstinacy, and obtuse futility?
I seem to be asking a lot of the big questions lately.
I’ve tested some of my boundaries, pushed myself well beyond normal limits.
One time it resulted in mono.
And yet, looking back, I’m proud of that. That I was that dedicated to my commitments that I was willing to sacrifice my health for the people who needed me. I think it speaks well of my character but is this healthy in the long run?
When we discover a limitation in an effort to be self aware should we always strive to overcome it? That seems a little silly to me. For one thing if we only discover our limits to ignore them then what’s the point? More to the point, are we then no longer self aware?
It sounds like, as with many things, this is an area in which sound judgment is the answer. Perhaps a useful distinction is those limitations which we want to push past versus those that others would have us ignore. If you have a slight passive aggressive streak and don’t like that about yourself then by all means push those boundaries. But if you don’t like seafood, neither the taste nor other aspects of it and your friends want you to get over it then perhaps they’ve strayed into areas of personality.
To a certain extent our limitations determine who we are. I, for example, do not have an aptitude or interest in many sports - football and baseball for example. Yes I could push myself to practice at them, learn about them, and cultivate an interest but if the drive and motivation behind that comes from without rather than within the nobility of the effort is at best dubious.
Perhaps in areas in which our limitations do not harm ourselves or others and we have no drive or interest in changing them these so-called limits should just be considered part of our unique individuality and left alone. Under this philosophy you can still hold interventions for alcoholics and go on diets if you wish but in cases where you are doing no active harm to anyone there seems to be very little wrong with knowing and accepting your boundaries.
So if you can’t run a minute mile and see no point in doing so then be at peace. Life is too short, enjoy some of it.
