Limitations
I’ve had a few really interesting conversations and that centered around the LIMITATIONS we place on others and ourselves. Sometimes these LIMITATIONS are not necessarily set out of one’s ill-will towards the other or even consciously. Most of us are unaware of how we place others and ourselves in a box. We are continuously conscious about how things are done and it is very difficult to embrace a different way of doing things and going beyond the standard practice.
People have a tendency to place LIMITATIONS because it is comfortable and it means that nothing else has to be learned. They can continue to be the master over what has been structured. It’s like those individuals who refuse to take on the challenge of using a computer or an updated program that is more efficient. They would rather do it the way they have been doing it than to embrace a new and more efficient process. I find LIMITATIONS usually affect those young and on fire individuals who come into a structure with new ideas and an enormous vision. Quickly their fire is stamped out by those who will never change and believe their years of experience to be the law of the land. Instead of embracing the new ideas and new challenges that loom ahead they smolder the burning fire with LIMITATIONS and forces an individual to work within their confinement.
There is this old saying that goes “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” It seems simple enough and it made complete sense to me. However, as I began to think about it more carefully I realized it was another LIMITATION that others have cleverly set to avoid change. What about “it may not be broke, but let’s make it better.” There may be many things that are running smoothly and being effective but can they not be improved upon, altered for the sake of new creative ideas and taken to another level because someone walks in with a new zeal for what is being done. Now I realize that there are some things we enjoy just as they are, like our old slippers, old robe and that old cluttered desk. There are some things we simply enjoy for ourselves just the way they are. Yet, we must let go of those customary ways that set LIMITATIONS on others ability to grow and release their vision.
When you are on fire with ideas that don’t seem to coincide with what has been done or what is being done, do not LIMIT yourself. If you feel that you have to move out of a certain comfort zone or a place that places a ceiling over your ability, do not LIMIT yourself. Refuse to become saturated with rules and customs that only seek to stifle your vision. In the end it is your responsibility to move beyond the LIMITATIONS and rules that others have set. It does not mean that we don’t respect certain cannons and customs but it does mean that you not be confined by them.
Just A Thought!