"The Sky's the Limit!"

Ever heard that saying before?

Sure you have! It's something our parents used to tell us to inspire us to be the best that we can be. It says, there are NO BOUNDS to what we can achieve; all you need is a little faith.

Leanne from Forever Change calls it "The Extraordinary Power of Belief."

DO YOU BELIEVE IN IT?

Me? I'm an optimist. You know, a "the glass is half-full" kinda guy. So yeah, I believe it.

Maybe it's because when I was little, my mother fought and over-came a battle with melanoma cancer. While she was fighting, not knowing what was going to happen next, she would always say to me:

"Mijo. En esta vida tu puedes hacer lo que quieras. Puedes cumplir lo que tu corazon decea."
[Translation:] Son. In this life you can do anything. You can accomplish whatever your heart desires.

Heck, she said it with such conviction I couldn't help but believe her! So when I wake up every morning, I have the conviction and motivation to take an extra step towards my goal(s). [At first it was attending UCLA. Now? Who knows. Law school perhaps?] 

Anyway, as I was reading along the blog-o-sphere yesterday I caught a different perspective. One that said:

"I believe that every individual can be what he or she wants to be, with one important caveat. They have to have the physical and to a lesser extent, the requisite mental capabilities." -- Tim Brownson; Author of The Discomfort Zone

On the one hand, with respect to the physical limits of the body, I guess I can accept the fact that some of us will never be world-renowned gymnasts. But then again, if our heart was really in it, wouldn't we have taken the time to condition our bodies from the very beginning? I can't help but think that these limitations are limitations manifested by us and our belief systems. In other words, if we believed that our goals were attainable from the beginning, we wouldn't have any preset limits on our body and mind [except with certain handicaps of course]. Why? Because we'd train ourselves to endure/cope with the challenges ahead in achieving our goals.

So I ask: which one are you? Do you subscribe to the "the glass is half-full" or "the glass is half-empty" way of thinking? Is anything in life truly attainable? Or are we restricted by some preset limits that the body and mind impose upon us? What do you think? Speak up...I want to know.

I know where Cath Lawson stands on this one; she's an optimist like me.

[Flickr Photo by: Light and Life ]

Comments

[Leanne Magraith]

Hi Ricardo
Thanks for visiting my site and mentioning my article "The Extraordinary Power of Belief." I am an optimist too - the glass is half full and it will be completely full soon type of attitude.

Our potential is amazing and we can achieve amazing things. I do however think along similar lines to Tim that physical limitations and to a much lesser extent mental capabilities place some caveats or limitations as to what is possible.

Only some people are capable of running a 4 minute mile for example. At the risk of sounding really corny I believe each person has their own "4 minute mile". There is a perceived barrier to being able to achieve something physical or mental or both.

To that individual and indeed to others it may appear to be impossible to achieve. With the right attitude and self belief I believe it is possible to break through your own 4 minute mile barrier.

[Irene]

Hi Ricardo, I'm definitely a "glass-is-half-full" person. With that, I mean I stand by Tim Brownson's theory. I see his point as being realistically positive. Sure there are extraordinary folks out there who've accomplished things that go beyond Tim's theory ... for those, I'll call them "glass-is-three-quarters-full" people. And for the ultimate, ANYTHING is attainable type, they are definitely in the "glass-is-full" category to me. :)

[Fabio Rodriguez]

Ummm, I will always consider myself "the glass is half-full" kind of person. However I received some really bad news this morning, something that really hit me, something I was really longing for and that suddenly vanished. Well, life has ups and downs, fortunately the ups are way more numerous.

Great post

Fabio

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Leanne: My pleasure! Your article was worth mentioning :-) You said: "At the risk of sounding really corny I believe each person has their own "4 minute mile"... I believe it is possible to break through your own 4 minute mile barrier."

First off, it doesn't sound corny. It's true, we each have our own unique challenge(s) to overcome. The goal to mastering those challenges is to find what motivates you (the sooner the better) and dedicate to conditioning your body and mind daily and taking a step closer towards mastering your goal. It doesn't happen over night and if you set limitations on yourself and what you believe, it certainly isn't going to happen at all.

Thanks for visiting Leanne! Hope to see you again soon...

@Irene: I can certainly tell that you subscribe to the "glass-is-half-full" way of thinking! I can see Tim's point and how it's important to be realistically positive but there's also a fine line wherein people limit themselves by believing less of what they can achieve. Don't you think?

@Fabio: I'm sorry to hear about the bad news. It sounds like you're keen on focusing more on the good that's still taking place and that's an enduring characteristic. I hope that all is well with you and I thank you for sharing here in the comments and being an example on how it's good to have an optimistic outlook.

[Melissa Donovan]

Wow, this is actually a pretty deep question that you've asked. Like you, I think that we impose limitations on ourselves and if we were meant to do something, then we would not have imposed those limitations in the first place.

On the other hand, some people just get lucky breaks. Others have a knack or talent for something they are not especially passionate about. So I think it can go any which way.

As for the glass, I see it simultaneously half full and half empty ;)

[Ricardo Bueno]

"I see it simultaneously half full and half empty" -- Melissa Donovan

@Melissa: I'm not perfect. I have my down moments too. But I try to find what causes those "down" moments so I can be in a "the glass-is-half-full" kinda mood. I'm better company that way :-)

As for luck, I think that the harder you work, the luckier you get! :-) [But I know what you mean.]

[Monika Mundell]

Beautiful words. I wish my mother had the same outlook on life, but unfortunately she doesn't. It took me years of fighting against my own devils to push through to the top and see how important a positive mind set really is for us all.

To answer your question, yes, I'm a glass half full person and I can't stress enough how important it is for parents to show their kids the power of the mind while they grow up.

[Barbara Swafford]

Hi Ricardo,

Call me an optimist too. I'm always looking at the bright side of a story, a lesson I can learn from something that didn't turn out the way I wanted it to and/or the best in a person. Some may say I live with rose colored glasses, but that's ok. It gets me through all days, good or bad.

Your mother said the same thing mine did. All it takes is a little bit of hard work and our dreams can become reality.

[mousewords]

I always try to be "glass is half-full." And I always believed that a person can accomplish whatever they truly want to do. It may not turn out the way we expect--maybe due to physical limitations--but by trying, we become more than we were when we started.

BTW, your mother sounds like an inspiring woman!

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Monika: Maybe she didn't tell you but somebody must have! To have fought and come this far, well...you beat your demons.

Like you, I think it's vitally important that parents play a role in positively motivating their children. Not everyone is as fortunate when fighting demons of their own and going it alone.

@Barbara: Re: "It gets me through all days, good or bad" Amen! I think that just about says it all. :-)

The rest just takes some good ol' fashioned hard work, a few words of wisdom, and the support of those around us to keep us truckin' on through.

@mousewords: Oh I know you're a "glass-is-half-full" kinda gal! Otherwise I don't think you'd be able to pop out such inspiring quotes :-)

Like you said, sometimes, in reaching for our goals, the outcome may not have been what we intended but like you I believe that we're better individuals for trying.

Thanks for the comment on my mother Christine; she has her share of enlightening moments.

[Bamboo Forest]

Hey, I didn't realize you had any new entries - my rss feed on firefox failed.

I think that there are in fact limitations when it comes to something like basketball or gymnastics. In other words, we can reach incredible heights as a result of the training of our mind, body and spirits.

But, there necessitates a certain degree of natural ability for one to make it to the NBA, or for one to become a concert pianist. That being said, we can still reach incredible heights even if we don't make it to the NBA, and do not become concert pianists. And we'll never know what our limits are - if we do not try.

Thus, we should push ourselves and see where we go.

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Bamboo Forest: Thanks for pointing that out...it wasn't your rss feed that failed. I rather foolishly changed my feed address without updating my subscribers :-/ So...it'd be great if you could take a moment to update the new address now :-)

I can agree with the fact that some people just don't have the natural physical ability... That might sound disappointing but hey, it's kinda true right?

But I also think it's good to remain optimistic which is why I like that you said: "we can still reach incredible heights even if we don't make it to the NBA... we'll never know what our limits are - if we do not try." -- Bamboo Forest