When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this — you haven’t.
— Thomas Edison
I recently joined my boys and their youth group on a backcountry backpacking trip. When we started down the trail, we were expecting an 8-mile hike. We knew it would have some uphill climbs but we felt we were ready for the challenge. Even the younger boys, several of whom were carrying packs that seemed almost as big as they were, were excited.
As the day progressed, we marched on and on and on until later in the day when everyone was starting to get tired. Eventually, we reached the 8-mile mark of the hike, but instead of finding our campsite we found ourselves at the bottom of switchbacks that continued up the mountain. But we pressed on.
We would discover that the hike would take another two and half miles of hard and rough trail. There was despair and pain and frustration. During that two and half miles everyone felt like they couldn’t go any further. And yet, each and every one of the boys made it to the camp.
During that hike we were all tired. We all thought we had hit our own personal walls. And we all were able to dig deeper and find strength we didn’t know we had.
This is true for each of us in life. There are many times when we will feel like we can’t go any further. We will feel like we have given our all and have no more to give. But we all have far more strength than we think. When you feel you are at your limit, that is your brain using fear to try to keep you safe. It is trying to keep you from danger. But in its effort to keep you safe, your brain is also preventing you from really reaching your potential.
When you think you can’t go any further, know that you can. When you feel exhausted, push yourself to the next level. Push past your fear and find your greatness.
Where are you feeling like you are at your limits in life? How would your life be different if you pushed past those limits? What can you do to push yourself to a new level now?