Get to Know Yourself, But Not Your Limitations

How do you know what you’re capable of? Do you have any idea what it would take for you to tap out, throw in the towel, or finally say stop?

We’ve all been there.

This week, that thought crossed my mind more than once — house repairs, family issues, money stress. The usual chaos. I’ve been watching documentaries that show how close people can come to losing it all — one step short of making it, one wrong place, one bad day away from the street. It’s sobering.

On the other side of that, I think about the Spartan races I used to do — those brutal, beautiful events where you pay to get your butt kicked. Obstacles, fire, freezing water, rocks, logs, mud. Every single race had the same rules: it’s going to be hard, it’s going to hurt, and the pain will last for days. You’ll leave with new marks on your body — but no one quits.

That’s the message. Push yourself. Push each other. Make sure the person behind you finishes too — even if it means pulling them up or pushing them over the wall.

That’s also life.

Maybe right now you’re between hurdles. Maybe you just made it over a wall. Maybe you’re standing at the bottom of another climb, soaked and tired, staring at the next obstacle that looks impossible. Don’t quit. Don’t reach for the towel.

Take a step. Take a breath. Lift your chin.

What keeps me going — what makes my skin tingle and fills my tank — is listening to voices that remind me who I am: Eric Thomas. Matthew McConaughey. The ones that make me look at myself, stand back up, and push forward.

Because the truth is this: Get to know yourself — but not your limitations.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

— Galatians 6:9