Limits

The only limits are the ones you put on yourself. Said another way...you can do anything you want to do. It's not going to be easy. It will take work, often a lot of work, but if you put in the time and energy, you can accomplish anything.

Stop listening to the naysayers. Pay no heed to the soul suckers. Forget about the doubters. Ignore everyone around you who doesn't support you. Believe in yourself, especially when others don't. Rise above the day to day bullshit and follow the path you want to follow.

No matter what you do, there are always going to be people who think you are crazy; people who will tell you no; people who will doubt you; people who just don't understand you. If they are going to be there no matter what, shouldn't you focus on what you want to do? Find people who will support you and surround yourself with them, then hit the ground running. What do you really want to do? What's really stopping you?

The Voice

So stop listening to it. You are never going to be able to completely silence the voice. When you think you may have, it will pop up at the worst time and start spreading doubt. You can ignore it...in fact, you must get good at ignoring it. This voice, the one only you can hear, will hold you back from reaching your potential more than anything else.

This voice pops up all the time, whether you are exercising or training or applying for a new job or learning a new language or studying a subject you find interesting or taking classes or doing anything new and different. It holds us back and convinces us to not give our all. I don't know if this is a survival mechanism from when we were hunter/gatherers or something new, but we have to learn that it has no place in our life.

The good thing is you can start to quiet it when you prove it wrong. It doesn't matter how you prove it wrong; all you have to do is keep going when it says you can't do something. Don't let it stop you or zap your motivation. Keep pushing and keep going. You will break through. You are capable of doing anything, if you put in the work, no matter what this shitty, little voice says.

The key is to recognize this voice for what it is when it pops up. You can even give the voice a name, if you want. Tell it to shut up, argue with it or just ignore it, but don't believe it. This voice will come up with great reasons why you shouldn't do things...it's too cold or wet to run, it's too late to study, you're not smart enough to learn that, this TV show looks better than hitting the gym, you don't have the qualifications for that job, you can't afford to go back to school, etc. These excuses are all bullshit.

Nothing you really want to do is going to be easy. If it was, you would have already done it. But, if you really want to do something, then it matters to you. Don't let bullshit excuses from a voice in your head stop you from doing them. Get out there and do the work. Don't let the rain stop you from running. Don't let fear of failure stop you from learning something new or applying for the job or moving across the country. Don't let any of the excuses stop you from doing the work you need to do. Don't let the voice convince you that doing something hard is a waste of time. It's not. Letting the voice win is the waste. Don't spend another day letting it control your life.

You Can Do Anything

During the last two weeks, we have seen numerous awe-inspiring athletic performances and stories. From Michael Phelps to Missy Franklin to Katie Ledecky to Usain Bolt to Allyson Felix to Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh Jennings to Mo Farah to Gabby Douglas to Bradley Wiggins to David Boudia to Chen Ruolin to Tom Daley to all the the other amazing athletes, many people throughout the world have stood up to cheer for their country (and for many other countries). We have seen some of the best athletes in the world compete in their respective events and show the world why they do what they do.

If you love the Olympics even half as much as I do, you have followed along cheering and celebrating and feeling sad for those who come up short. You have watched in awe as world records were broken and athletes did things you could never imagine doing. For all the amazing athletic feats that occurred, for me, one athlete stands out as an inspirational example of being able to do anything, if you put in the work.

Oscar Pistorius was born without fibulas and both of his legs were amputated below the knee while he was an infant. He learned to walk using prosthetics and has spent his life doing everything a "normal" person does.  In this Olympics, Oscar competed in the 400m and 4x400m relay. While not winning a medal, Oscar showed the world what is possible if you put your mind to it. He inspires anyone who watches him compete, including his fellow athletes. Oscar's story is what the Olympics is all about...rising above any challenge to compete on the world's largest stage.

What's stopping you from doing what you want? Whatever it is, I am guessing it isn't as big of an obstacle as competing in track and field without legs. Every one of us has the ability to do anything; we just have to believe in ourselves and not let anything stop us from doing it. Any time you think about giving up because things are too tough, think about Oscar's story. Think about what he has done with the hand he was dealt. He didn't give up. He didn't let anything stop him from doing what he wanted to do.

If you could do anything, what would it be? What's really stopping you?