Arbitrary Limits

We often limit ourselves through preconceptions.  We define goals toward which we aim yet often are capable of achieving greater.  Those preconceptions are frequently defined by others.

If a child is told that he is a failure he likely will be.  If a person is told they can never achieve greatness, they likely won't.  If one is taught that he must be subservient he most likely will remain that way throughout his life.

Being taught that mediocre is okay is safe.  It reduces the chance of devastating failure.  But it also limits achievement.

How do you teach that reaching for the stars is a worthy goal while also instilling an understanding that failure will happen and can be overcome?  Perhaps the key is to allow struggle to happen.  Encouragement and coaching through failure prepares one for higher achievement the next time around.  We learn more from failure than from success.  The problem is that failure is discouraging and causes reticence to try again.

Those failures can create arbitrary limits on what we attempt if we never establish the attitude and mindset that failure is only temporary.  We must learn from failure and consider it merely a step toward success.  That is when we remove the limits.

We have a couple of very old Crepe Myrtles on our place.  They each have multiple trunks rising together.  One of them is at least two feet in diameter.  They are over 30 feet tall.  Their height comes from age, but also from competing for sunlight since they are surrounded by even taller Oak, Hackberry and other trees which are even taller.  Their struggle for sunlight also causes them to bloom later than they would without that struggle.  They have reached heights rarely seen with their species.  Below is a photo of one of them against the backdrop of the taller trees.  It is just now starting to blossom.