Beyond My Limits

I was a dreamer in high school.  I believed in the power of goals.  I believed I could accomplish anything I set my mind to do.  I believed there were no limits to my potential.

Then, life happened.

Two weeks after marrying my first husband and moving out of state with him, he grabbed my shoulders and shook me so hard I thought he was going to break my neck.  That single violent act changed everything.  The physical, verbal, emotional and financial abuse ensued and over time I began to doubt everything that was me.  Which in turn set off a slew of choices that took me farther from becoming that girl who could do anything.  Life imposed huge limits / limitations on me, and I let it.

Well, that's all changed now, hasn't it?

I realize I have imposed limits to all I can do, all I can be, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  I am working hard on establishing several new goals for my life in all of those areas.  And once I make them, I want to stretch them just a little....just past where I THINK the limit is...and see where that leads me.

Last night my trainer pushed me (lunges and squats with kettlebells) beyond what I thought was possible.  I wanted to cry.  I wanted to shout "I can't!"  I wanted to give up.  Instead, I dug deeper, focused through the pain, and took huge, deep, "girl on a mission" breaths.  And I finished what he laid out for me to do...and pushed way past what I thought were my limits.

What are your limits?  Where do you set the bar?  Are you living up to it?  Pushing past it?

One thing I am learning....if left completely on my own, I don't necessarily feel like pushing past any limits (who doesn't like their little comfort zone, right?)  So I am surrounding myself with people who see in me what I can't see (yet)...who believe in me and who can help me set and reach higher goals.  And you know what?  It's working.

:-)