There isn’t a person on the planet who doesn’t have some kind of limitation on their life…
Be it their health, age, money, energy levels, kids, family members with high needs, job expectations, etc…
It truly is a never ending list.
Many people feel the need to fight against these restrictions and at the very least be bitter and annoyed at them…
but my hope is to share a different perspective on life’s limitations so you can discover the freedom found within them.
For some people it takes some imagination and letting go but just about everyone ends up pleasantly surprised by all the good that comes when they learn to work within life’s natural boundaries.
I haven’t always thought this way and I’m not even sure what brought about the change in my own thinking…
But I do know that now I’m really good at working within life’s boundaries…
like almost too good…
like to the point that it’s nothing to brag about and I need to start pushing things I’ve accepted for too long.
But pushing boundaries is for another day and today is about how to work within…
them which brings me to my first point…
We live in a hustle culture that’s taught us to work hard and do very little reflecting…
When the going gets tough the tough just keep on going, right??
But maybe we should be asking if what we’re doing is even working for us and our life values.
Hustle culture has taught us to keep moving no matter how tired we are…
To say, ‘yes!’ to far too many things…
And, ‘no’ to sleep/rest/recovery/buffers/quality time with those that matter most, etc.
Christians are not exempt form this kind of thinking as so many of us end up running after everything we THINK God wants us to be doing.
We forget to pay attention to what Jesus is actually after…
Which comes at great expense to our walk and eternity with Him.
So, What are life’s limitations?
They are anything and everything that slows life down…
And they usually look something like this…
- Cooking and cleaning
- Sleeping and resting
- Your personal energy levels and emotional disposition
- Being pregnant and super sleepy for a few to 9 months
- The needs of newborns and toddlers
- Needing to work and make a livable income
- The needs of your family and in different seasons the needs of your friends
- Your age/health/physical strength can limit what you’re able to do or not do
- Emergencies and crises’ can put huge limitations on life
- Etc.
We’re always trying to avoid or escape life’s limits but doing so only delays the inevitable…
maybe not today…
but one day you might wake up in a hospital bed because of how hard you pushed yourself and ignored your body’s signals…
or you’ll find yourself so alone because of shattered relationships that are broken because they were never given time to grow and thrive.
And worse, as followers of Jesus, a busy culture has taken far too many of us away from our Lord…
Turning once burning hearts into a distant memory.
BUT on the flip side when you work within life’s limits…
You begin to have healthy expectations of yourself and others…
you have the time for people, to clean your home, read your Bible, go for walks, slow down when you’re sick etc.
A BIG reason why people don’t work within the limits of their life is the fear that accepting life’s limits means they have to be ok getting nowhere and accomplishing nothing…
that they’ll have to settle for something less.
We’ve developed an ‘either/or’ kind of mentality rather than a ‘both/and’…
either I slow down OR I succeed…
when it should be – how can I slow down AND still succeed?
Here would be a good time for a quick note…
There are definitely times to push the boundaries in life as we’d be grown up babies if we never did because all learning forces us to stretch, think and move beyond what we know.
You might be surprised but I’m a huge fan of pushing boundaries…
at the right time and when it’s necessary in order to get you from where you are to where you want to be.
I’m NOT a fan of pushing boundaries and limits out of habit because that creates workaholics who have nothing to show for all their effort…
it’s depressing and straight up just sucks.
Alright, enough preamble…
Here are 6 reasons to love life’s limitations.
1: Contentment and gratitude
The hustle culture mentality and the myriad of ways that shows up in our lives creates a mindset that causes us to be discontent until we have what we want…
but when you begin to recognize and work within your life’s limits…
gratefulness and contentment start to become second nature.
It’s so healthy to be able to recognize what you have and how far you’ve come and simply be thankful for it.
Remember – contentment doesn’t mean you have to let go of goals 😉
2: Rest and Healing
When sleep/rest/recovery stops being the enemy to progress then there’s time to take a deep breath in and enjoy a cup of coffee on the deck…
Or go to bed on time…
Because progress (whatever that looks like for you) is given it’s allotted time and when it’s done it’s done…
Which means you can work hard for one hour and in the next be totally at peace with your feet up and a good book.
3: You’re more present
This one is GOLD because when you learn the skill of being in the moment and let go of making a grocery list in your head while you’re trying to play a board game with your kids…
you stop overlapping to-dos and instead do one thing at a time…
and you do it efficiently and properly.
Focus is a powerful thing and saves A LOT of time and energy.
Which leads us to number 4…
4: Embracing life’s limitations blesses the people around you
I could write a whole other blog post on just this one…
for a toddler it could look like you patiently giving them the space to learn how to put their own shoes on (which I know…I know…there’s not always time for that).
For your teen it could be you noticing their mood change and instead of ignoring it, hoping it’ll pass, you go and have a heart to heart.
For a parent it looks like quality visits to the care home where they now live to play cards and look through photo albums.
People (including ourselves) present many, MANY inconveniences and limits and tend to slow life down…
but embracing those limits connects you with real people who need you…
not to hustle harder but just to be there with them in the moment.
5: You find your sweet spot
When you no longer push against everything and everyone as you rush through to get…where exactly?
When you accept that you just don’t have as much energy as half the go-getters you know…
or that the season of life you’re in just doesn’t jive with a lot of the things you’ve been trying to do…
you’ll begin to discover what you actually do and do not enjoy…
and where you REALLY want to put your focus with the rest of this one life that you have.
Embracing life’s limits helps you be yourself and when you’re yourself more…
well let’s just say…
it’s good.
6: Embracing life’s limits teaches you to say ‘no’
When you accept and listen to your life saying, “no, we just can’t fit it all in”…
And your body saying, “nope, can’t take the late nights anymore”…
You will, out of necessity have to learn how to say a kind but firm “no”.
And let me tell you as someone who is a people pleaser but learned this skill…
It. Is. So. Freeing!!
Practice journaling or saying out loud to yourself…
- “I actually don’t like doing _______________”
- “I get stuck in saying yes to things I don’t want to do when ____________”
- “Something I could easily remove from my schedule or daily habits is _______________”
In summary…
some limitations are meant to be pushed through…
but not all.
It takes time, experience, reflection, thoughtfulness, and wisdom to know when to push through and when to accept the natural boundaries that come from within and outside of us.
Embracing life’s limits will teach you to think and when you begin to do less and think more…
your actions and lifestyle choices become intentional and purposeful…
Which is good and lifegiving for anyone…
But for Christians it is so critical that we take the time to slow down, consider the choice we have made to follow Jesus, count the cost and embrace the road set before us as we follow Him.