Finding your limits

Some days I have all the energy in the world to tackle every problem I could imagine. On those days it seems I can work for twelve hours straight and come up wanting more. Other days I can barely manage to get through the afternoon, exhausted and feeling that there’s nothing left.

On both of those types of days we need to recognize our limits and not push past what our bodies can handle. You may think that you’re fine to keep going late into the evening, day after day. But you’ll find a wall at some point, and often recovering takes longer than you expect.

So my list of things I want to do is always longer than my time available. I’ve learned to recognize that impossibility and cut things out along the way. Some days I come to the end of the day and realize all I wanted can’t happen, and that instead of pushing harder I should spend time with people I love, get some exercise, and start fresh the next day.

Knowing your limits matters so much for making sure that you’re not burned out for the long haul. Life is both short and long.