The Biggest Life Truth I Ever Learned

We're often told that embracing our unlimited potential is one gateway to happiness. But what if we're wrong? What if having limitations is a gift of being a human being, and if so - what do they mean? This reading from the original "The Biggest Life Truth I Ever Learned" article asks you to look at the metaphorical lines in the sand that outline your definition, in hopes of embracing these limitations as blessings.

Transcript

The biggest life truth that I ever learned.

I was sitting in Barnes and Noble,

Believing through the newest books in my favorite aisle,

Non-fiction.

Full of self-help books on how to become your best self,

How to attract abundance into your life,

How to mend your relationship with God,

And every topic in between,

I picked a few newbies and proceeded to the nearby Starbucks just to hang out and read.

Are you ready to tap into your fullest potential?

Are your limitations holding you back?

Here's how to become an unlimited powerhouse in your own life.

These are just some of the quotes I read in the first few opening lines of the book.

I've read them before,

And not just in books,

Blogs,

Memes,

Inspirational quotes in subway tunnels,

They're really everywhere.

And it seems that every self-help guru is recycling them or delivering them to masses of confused people looking for answers.

And up until that day in Barnes and Noble,

I was one of those people,

Flocking to these quotes as the holy grail of life's wisdom.

I would take them as giant red flags in my own journey of life,

Asking myself,

Am I a limited human being who is only living in the confines of a small space I created myself?

Why can't I just push past these limits to my fullest self?

And then it hit me.

Maybe we're wrong.

Maybe all of these self-help experts and we who follow them are incorrect on this one belief.

That one of life's biggest goals is to become an unlimited human being.

And I started exploring what it means to have limitations.

And what I uncovered was the biggest truth I ever logically and emotionally agreed with in one fell swoop.

I realized that our limitations are not barriers keeping us at bay.

They are boundaries that shape us and give us facets of evolving definition.

For so long we've believed that limitations are challenges that we need to overcome.

We're limited in our careers,

Passion,

Relationships,

Self-esteem,

Confidence,

And the like.

So we go out to seek help to overcome these hurdles because we've labeled them as bad and unworthy.

How can we possibly live the rest of our life with these things holding us back from our fullest potential?

But what if our fullest potential is simply being a human being?

Some of us are shy,

Introverted people who have a hard time opening up to new relationships or new opportunities.

Some of us,

Well most of us,

Are so afraid of change that we'd rather stay in jobs or marriages or cities that no longer serve us.

And then on top of all of that,

We're confronted with this remedy that says push past those limitations and you'll be free.

But I don't think it works that way.

What would we ever learn about freedom,

Happiness,

Joy,

Love,

Or success if it weren't for those limitations?

There is no knowledge or wisdom implanted into our brains that hasn't come from experience.

And that experience has often been daunting,

Overwhelming,

Heartbreaking,

And just plain hard.

Subconsciously,

Whether on our own or in a society of like-decided people,

We've set forth on a path that abolishes these limits so that we can one day come to a point where we're the polar opposite of everything we no longer like about ourselves.

The limits that we currently stare at every morning are no longer pikes lining our road to happiness,

But instead bygone sticks of wood dished off to the side in our victory to overcome them.

But in front of us does not stand an open road where we finally shake hands with our best self and say goodbye to these limitations.

No.

Without our limitations,

Which are really our definitions,

We realize that nothing stands in front of us at all.

Instead,

A gaping desert of tumbleweeds and silence because we've forgotten that being a human being is about what we embrace and reclaim rather than tossed aside.

By cleaning out the path to what we think leads to happiness,

We're really erasing the lines in the sand that give us definition.

And mostly so,

Because somewhere along the way we decided that we didn't like being shy,

Introverted,

Afraid,

Unmotivated,

Etc.

We so badly wanted to be the opposite of those things that we vowed to clear away any signs that we once were this unacceptable version of ourselves.

But if you clear away the darkness,

The light cannot shine.

It doesn't know how.

Everything in the universe points to the dichotomy of balance.

Light and dark,

Yin and yang,

Black and white,

They are pools of reflection by which we embrace our own balance.

Without this balance,

We are not whole.

We are not unlimited human beings who've tapped into their fullest potential.

Instead,

We're scattered,

Incomplete,

Wisps of wind,

Forever searching for definition that only rests in those limitations that we can't stand to welcome.

And we can spend the rest of our life spinning in circles,

Always on some threshold of undoubted achievement between the pages of self-help quotes,

Until we realize that the journey is almost over and we have uncovered nothing at all.

Your limitations are boundaries.

Use them to speak your truth,

To stand your ground,

To change into and out of your definition as life goes on.

They do not keep you from living your best life.

They are your best life.

Enjoy it while you have the time.

Reviews

Thank you for sharing this and validating the truth that we are unique and there's no one truth to be successful in the eyes of society.
Slow living is what I believe in, people who enjoy their solitude amongst nature and having sustainable minimalistic lifestyle is also a way being unlimited being as our ancestors did.

Thanks for your insight ! We only have today so enjoy and make the best of it was my take away. 💕🙏☀️

I loved hearing your thoughts on this. So eloquently expressed. Thank you. 🥰

Yes! Thank you for the Ah-ha clarification & actual truth!🙏🏼

thank you for sharing, an important reframe to reflect upon today. thank you 💖

Loved this, thank you

Very insightful and helpful—thank you so much! 🙏🏻❤️

Awesome. Amazing. Simple Truth. I want to listen to this message over and over so I don't forget it. Thank You

Strong insight ! Resonates within me and feels like....the end of struggle...will listen again :) thank you 🙏🎶

Thank you! So true...

Fabulous meditation, or pondering of that point. I like your take on it. I’ve always thought those quotes etc basically we’re telling us that “we aren’t good enough as we are, just being us.” True most folks want to be the best version of themselves, but still be Themselves! Are we told in meditation over and over that we ARE good enough?
Maybe that doesn’t sell books.
My biggest gripe is how they’ve taken the words of long ago gurus and have sold them as new thoughts they came up with.
Osho, Rumi, even Donald Walsch, who wrote Conversations with God long before the likes of other ‘modern’ gurus, have all had their words and ideas taken, rewritten and spat out with the intention of selling books.
It sort of makes me mad.
Good for you for seeing through so much of that hype.
Great little talk.
🦋🙏🏽🐾💐🌹✨💫🙏🏼💕🦋
I agree 100% You are right about that. We need to be aware & awake. Sadly many who are looking to be awake are sucked into the shiesters. It’s them I feel for.
Keep up the great work!!
Namaste.
🌺🙏🏽💐🌸🐾🦋🙏🏼✨🌹

I have read heaps of self help books and yes the messages are great and inspiring however "if you take away the darkness the light cant shine!" puts a whole new view on it all. I am a human being with all my limitations that I can celebrate. What a meaningful way to start the day. Thank you for your wise interpretation of life.

So much this❣❣❣❣❣❣❣

Very refreshing observation

I LOVE this insight, Alexandra! Wonderful “food for thought”.
🙏🏻💕

Thank you for sharing your well articulated thoughts 🙏🌺🌸🦋

Profound wisdom. This is a great reminder for me, in understanding that I'm not going to arrive at a point of satisfaction. It's Now!
Thank you.

Well said!🙏🏽❤️

On-point, thoroughly enjoyed this talk.
...uncovering truth about ourselves through experience & mistakes and learning from them as part of the process in life.

Sending you gratitude Aleksandra🌱🌟🦉

This was a really wise rejoinder to many of the messages out there (and here, on IT). I couldn’t agree more, but couldn’t have put it as eloquently as you do. Accepting and embracing is a more fruitful endeavor than striving to become something wholly other to oneself. Thanks so much for this!