Build Success Within Your Limits
Posted on July 16, 2025 by Hannah Voetberg MA, MSW, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
Limits are like the banks of a river: Work within them, build direction and momentum; ignore or fight them, lose focus, become "swamped."
I am sure we have all heard that “the sky is the limit.”
On one hand, that sounds promising; on the other, it can keep us from finding direction and moving forward.
Several years ago, I had one of those moments of insight that helped me tremendously:
I could either fight my limits or build on possibilities.
As I pondered this, I realized that railing against constraints is a waste of focus and energy. There are simply things I will never do and cannot change.
If, however, I turned my attention to my abilities and opportunities, I can succeed.
Think about a river.
It has banks.
Without these boundaries, a river would become a swamp or marsh.
It may still flow some, but it would have no direction and momentum.
If a dam is built across the river, its flow is interrupted.
How we manage limitations works in much the same way:
Acknowledge the “banks”, gain direction.
There are limitations we may need to modify or remove:
- Our own thinking and expectations
- Activities or involvements that only serve as distractions
- Nay sayers or “dream killers”
These can be “dams” to us.
If you tell yourself that you are helpless and can do nothing because ____, you build a dam.
If you acknowledge the things that are part of your life’s structure and maximize what you have, you flow within the banks.
When I was in college, I had a friend named Denise, who had Muscular Dystrophy.
Her body was deformed to the point that she could move very little; she fatigued easily and required assistance for almost everything.
Yet she had started two businesses by the time she earned her bachelor’s degree and would go on to start one more.
Her life was a powerful river. She could have stayed home and accomplished nothing … She certainly had a valid excuse …
But she recognized her limits and built on her abilities.
Denise is a monument to success.
How about you?
