The very image above has impassioned me to write this blog, and whilst overtraining is another blog altogether, the point I want to make here is that your limits are not to be restricted by others. In fact, more often than not there are no limits.

Have you ever been told ‘you’re doing too much’, ‘you’re crazy for waking up that early’, ‘you can’t do that’? When in reality you are just working hard to achieve your goal.

You may go to the gym 5 times a week and you may have people telling you ‘you’re doing too much’, when you might not be doing ‘too much’ at all. If you are enjoying what you are doing and can recover from it, and as long as it’s not detrimental to your health, then why become restrictive just because others tell you so? In some cases they’re just restricting yourself to their own limits, probably without even realising it, or due to a lack of understanding in the first place. Just because they aren’t exercising 5 times a week doesn’t mean that you can’t either.

Ever tried eating healthily and been bombarded with not so healthy eaters telling you not to be so boring or persuading you to order that dessert after a meal out? What about the stigma of education being viewed as ‘uncool’, and the stick you get when you admit you’d rather read the latest journal articles than watch the latest episode of EastEnders.

I wonder what would have happened if people like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates had been negatively influenced by the words of others, telling them they can’t or that they are working too much. Their success has been defined by sheer determination and hard work, not through limiting themselves and restricting what they can achieve.

Watch this video…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pEBz6PzF50

The other important point to make here is to not put others down, restrict them or harshly question their motives, as long as it’s not detrimental to their health and wellbeing of course. If someone you know is training 5 times a week and feels great for it, pay them a compliment instead of telling them they’re over doing it or won’t be able to keep it up, even if you’re feeling guilty about only exercising once in a blue moon. These negative responses are all too common, when really we need to help and encourage others to achieve their goals and to be successful. After all, we can all support each other to improve and become better than we were before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXJ1FZKwI7c

Life is full of possibilities, it’s limitless and you certainly have no reason to limit yourself to the views of others.

Adie Blanchard – Researcher