Have you ever imagined what your life would be like without limits?
How sweet is the liberty of self-determination? Is it worth getting out of the comfort zone that we have become accustomed to? What awaits us beyond borders? Are there any guarantees that what awaits us won’t be worse than the current limitations?
Limitations are not much different from a locked door. Once opened, where it will lead us is both exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time because it can either be an opportunity as well as a risk. Therefore, we have to answer ourselves truthfully, “Are we really ready to leave the old limitations we are accustomed to for new opportunities in life that we are uncertain of?”
Of course, there is a price to pay for leaving the old for the new. These price tags can be negative reactions from people around us, the fact that we have to be more self-reliant, bare with less comfort, or have less financial stability, etc. All these uncertainties can induce doubt or even fear.
However, we believe in the “No pain, no gain” motto and the courage to go through the process. Although discarding old limitations and entering new territories come with risks attached, but opportunities for higher return can also be expected. Without limitations we may discover our hidden talents, experience more diverse arrays of inspirations, people, works, as well as opportunities, which also includes being in an environment that encourages growth and development, very much like the analogy of the tree leaving the old pot that has become too small for a richer soil. Nonetheless, even if the path does not lead to the expected outcome, lessons learned along the way will strengthen us for next time. Through challenging experiences, the good and the bad, we will learn to feel empathy for others as well as discover who we really are.
Courage is not only very giving, but it also limits our limitations. As previously mentioned, challenging our limits is both “walking towards the new” as well as “leaving the old” that no longer accommodate us. These can be familial expectations, financial strains, overall surrounding environment at work or at home. Using work as an example, we have found a study in 2016 that was represented at the American Sociological Association that accumulated data of working Americans since 1979 in order to examine relations between job satisfaction and health issues. Three key points derived from the statistics support our suggestion that the courage to leave your limiting factors contributes to a better life.
Those who are between 25 – 39 and are unsatisfied with their jobs are more likely to develop health problems in their 40s, such as sleeping difficulties, stress, depression and other mental health issues, weak immune systems, being more prone to develop colds, and even back pains.
More than 45% who are unsatisfied with their jobs when they are 25 – 39 will continue to dislike their jobs even in their 40s.
Only 15% who hate their jobs at first can turn around and like them later on in life.
The above findings from this study are statistical evidence that staying in an unsatisfactory environment negatively impacts our health and quality of life. More importantly, if it does not make us happy today, the likelihood that it will positively change is very low. If you do not like things as they are now, chances are that you will continue to dislike it even after some time has passed. Although the results were accumulated from working Americans, but we believe that most workers worldwide aren’t much different from one another. It is near universal, albeit at varying extent, that every office worker complains about their superiors, work, stress, or effects from overwork. However, not many have the willpower to break free from those unsatisfactory situations because the path less trodden will always seem more desolate, difficult, and uncertain.
In this regard, if you are unsure of the advantages to be gained, whether or not it will be for better or for worse, the fact that just by leaving the old negativities, our quality of life can be expected to increase, especially in terms of health, is quite certain. In addition, opportunities to come across things that make us happy will also increase, at least much better chance than staying with something we already know to be unsatisfactory.
We all have different factors affecting and directing how our lives turn out. We have different resources, people, skills, preferences, goals, we live in different environments, etc. Therefore, it is rather difficult to guarantee a single outcome for everyone after challenging our respective limitations. However, the least we can be sure of is that stepping out of an oppressing situation is giving ourselves opportunities to meet new things while discarding things that hold us down.
Next time, we will discuss a real-life example of how we can deal with the new things coming our way and how to make sure that they will be positive elements in our lives.
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