Be awesome within your own limits

The combination of my vacation and a video I saw a few weeks ago got me thinking about this topic.

On this vacation I did some things I had never thought about doing (surfing and zip lining), some things I had not done in years (horseback riding), and some things that took me to the edge of my abilities (ATV driving).

People are awesome video.

I did these things to varying degrees of skill.  Some with average skill like the horseback riding, some with no skill whatsoever like the surfing, some just by sheer determination (The ATV).  But I did try them all.

A good portion of the credit goes to my travel buddy for not only pushing me to do some of these things but for also allowing me to push myself into trying these things.

One thing I did not do however is to try to push myself over the edge of my capabilities.  I will probably never be featured in a video like the one of above of people doing amazing physical stunts.

These people probably spend an inordinate amount of time practicing and re-practicing these skills that they have till what they do seems nearly impossible, and that’s great for them.  As long as it’s their passion, let them do it.

For my part however it is enough that I tried.  As badly as I did in some cases I tried to do it.  Maybe some time in the future I will try again and get better, maybe not.

One thing that I can say for certain is that trying a new thing whets your appetite for trying all sorts of other new things.  You get the sense that you really have no limits if you adopt a more open frame of mind.

So if there is some skill or activity that frightens you or scares you or you just don’t know about, why not try it just once?  You don’t have to master it the first time out, you may not even have to do it more than once.  But the important thing is that you tried.

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