Daily Mood Quote - September 18, 2011

 

Daily Mood Quote

Day 138 – September 18, 2011

Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they're yours.

~Richard Bach

So, the other day I'm sitting on the sofa watching Jeopardy with Alex Trebek and words came across the screen that I could not see. My first reaction was to feel sorry for myself. Stupid limitation...Then, I began to wonder about the limitations that others experience. Some physical limitations can't be helped, like my eyes. It would not have taken much to get up from the sofa, walk over to the television, and read what was scrolling across the bottom of the program. Instead I became frustrated and stopped myself from achieving what I wanted to do; read the words. I paid more attention to my limitation than my goal.

I believe a lot of people make that mistake and so goals are not achieved. It's not a limitation that others are putting on me, its a limitation that I chose to define me for just a moment. True, diminishing vision is not something to be taken lightly, but I have the opportunity to overcome it and achieve more. Cavett Robert said, “Any person who selects a goal in life which can be fully achieved, has already defined his own limitation.” That's another way of saying your reach should exceed your grasp. The point is your reaching and pushing forward, not sitting back saying “woe is me” that just doesn't cut it.

In the movie Rudy, Rudy (played by Sean Astin), was told by many that he was too small to play college football. Determined to not allow the limitation of others stop him, he went out for the team at Notre Dame. After two years of playing football Rudy was told by Fortune (Charles S. Dutton), “You're 5 foot nothin', 100 and nothin', and you have barely a speck of athletic ability. And you hung in there with the best college football players in the land for 2 years. And you're gonna walk outta here with a degree from the University of Notre Dame. In this life, you don't have to prove nothin' to nobody but yourself. And after what you've gone through, if you haven't done that by now, it ain't gonna never happen. Now go on back.” Maybe not the King's English, but it gets the point across. We all are capable of achieving the things in life we truly desire, maybe not to be the “very best”, only one person can be that, but to “hang in there”, be the best you can be and like Rudy achieve bigger things in life. It's what we need to prove to ourselves that drives us toward excellence. When we let others define those goals, or tell us we can't, we are only letting our dreams fade on the shelf and letting our best selves fade right along side them.

That's how I view my vision situation (punny I know). I am achieving in a post-graduate program that has humbled many and many never even try. Not because its somebody else's idea of what I should do, or be, but because its a goal that burns inside. We all have limitations, some physical, some financial, some self made and all too often limitations put upon us by other's attitudes. The key is to look toward the goal and not at the blockers in front of you. And when you see an opening, go for it with all you've got. Rudy did. There is a fellow who plays for the New England Patriots (Danny Woodhead, from tiny Chadron State College in Nebraska), who is only 5'8” tall and he is succeeding among giants. Miniature running back dominates in the NFL, bumblebees fly, and anyone with a goal that burns inside can achieve. It's when you push past your “limitations” that amazing things begin to happen.

What goals “burn” inside you today?

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Thank you for reading

Daily Mood Quote - May 18, 2011

Daily Mood Quote

Day 14 – May 18, 2011

"Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless."

-Jamie Paolinetti-

I have always believed that limitations are chains that one puts on themselves. On November 12, 2002, I was told I was losing my sight. My first reaction was, my life is over. Actually, my life was just beginning. It's amazing how clear the world became to me. Society tends to make broad generalizations such as, “you can't see, you can't do,” you can't hear, you can't know” and “you can't walk, you can't participate.” None of these things are true. These are folktales at best and prejudice at worse. If you look at history's examples you find that many have risen beyond societies preconceived notions to achieve the remarkable. A few examples include Helen Keller who was blind and deaf, yet rose to heights that many of us only dream of reaching. Many would argue that Beethoven did his best work after he lost his hearing. A wheelchair bound Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32^nd President of the United States, carried our country on his shoulders, through the two most grave threats the nation has ever faced, The Great Depression and World War II. History is full of such examples.

The achievements of the aforementioned examples are what can be accomplished, when we believe in ourselves and limitless possibilities. I am inspired by these stories and will not allow my vision loss to decrease my vision of what life can be. Richard Bach in his book Illusions puts it best, “Argue for your limitations and sure enough they're yours.”. What does it mean? Simply, the only limitations people have are the one they resign themselves too. Mr. Bach also wrote “There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts.” That one is also true. While we may not always actively “seek” our problems, ultimately they all come bearing some gift that we can use to better ourselves, or teach others. Although, we may not appreciate the “gift” at first sight, or in my case, not sight.

In the past nine years, my physical vision has deteriorated, it is hard to see distance, although I still reach for my dreams and envision a greater future than ever before. I can no longer drive a car, but my drive for success is stronger than ever. As Fräulein Maria (played by Julie Andrews) said in The Sound of Music “When God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window.” The window I have found is a greater appreciation of the gifts in my life and what my true life goals are. The window is open and the view is terrific!

What is your limitless vision?

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