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DON’T JUMP FROM THE 5TH FLOOR YET

22/06/2018 23:39:00 By Bongani Simelane

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Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go’. I like this quote, as it says something perfectly logical, but which few people have actually considered.

That something is the answer to the question, “How far could you go?”To find the limits of your ability, one must go to the edge. But where is the edge, and how does one find it?

The usual manner is to keep going bigger until you find the limit. In short the way you find the edge is to keep going until you fail, at which point you have gone past your limit or ability, at least at this point in time, with your present level of skill.

Yet how many people would claim they could not do something when it is merely outside their comfort zone, rather than truly being beyond how far they could go? You could figure out your limits by trying things and seeing what you could and could not do.

By going too far, you know where the edge is, at least for the moment. Some practice, some coaching, a mentor or even a book, and it may well be time to test again, right? If we look at it from the other direction, how would you know what your limits are if you never test yourself? Isn’t that the main reason for tests in school? It is the same at work and in professional societies.

You learn something and then take a test to see your new limits. By testing ourselves, by pushing our limits and trying again, we get better.
We find new things to try, new methods or tactics. If we keep it up, eventually we get better and better. And then the next time, we find that a different part of what we are doing is the weak part.

Again, from another viewpoint, how would you know what to work on improving if you never tested yourself to see where you were weak and where you were strong? And the only way to find where you are weak is to push until you fail, until your weakness is exposed. And that’s a good thing.