 |
| |
| |
| | |
| Welcome to Our Latest Newsletter!
📚 Read Time: 7 Minutes
When we talk about limitations, it’s usually with frustration. They feel like the thing holding us back. Not enough time. Not enough confidence. Not enough energy to do what we want or be who we know we could be. And sometimes, that’s exactly what they are.
But not all limitations are problems. Some of them are signals. Some help us sharpen our focus. Others keep us from burning out when we try to do everything all at once. The truth is, a limitation can either box you in or help you build something better. It depends on how you work with it.
In training, we limit intensity so the body can adapt. In life, we limit distractions to protect our energy. The point isn’t to avoid all limits. It’s to know which ones are holding you back and which ones are helping you grow.
This week, we’re unpacking what limitations really are. Where they come from, how they affect the brain and body, and how to tell the difference between a useful limit and a harmful one. We’ll also talk about how mindset plays into it and why growth often begins right at the edge of what we thought we couldn’t do.
Because your limits don’t define your ceiling. They define your starting point.
Let’s get into it. |
| | | |
| | |
| What Are Limitations?
Limitations are the things that restrict our ability to grow, act, or believe in what’s possible. But not all of them are harmful, and not all of them are permanent.
There are two main types:
Internal limitations
These come from within, usually shaped by past experiences, fear, or self-doubt.
Thoughts like:
- “I’m not good enough”
- “I always mess this up”
- “People like me can’t do that”
These beliefs might feel protective at first, but they often turn into walls that shrink our confidence and block our progress.
External limitations
These are real-world constraints like time, money, health, or access.
You didn’t choose them, but they shape your reality. The challenge isn’t just what they limit. It’s how they force you to adapt.
The key is learning to tell the difference between:
- A limitation that’s protecting you
- A limitation that’s holding you back
Because not every limit is an obstacle. Some are signals. Some are strategy. And some exist to help you grow smarter, not harder. |
| | | |
| | |
| Michael’s Perspective: Limits Only Make Sense After You Try
The way I look at limitations is simple. You don’t really understand what they are unless you’re willing to feel uncomfortable and risk looking bad. Most people avoid that feeling. I’ve learned to lean into it.
One thing I actually love about sharing my training and performance goals online is that it forces me to stay transparent. It’s vulnerable, yes. But it’s also freeing. There’s something cathartic about being both the coach and the athlete, helping others build structure in their training while being open about the fact that I don’t always hit the mark in mine.
That’s especially true with competitive running. Over the last year, my goal has been to reconnect with something I’ve always loved while also seeing what my physical limits really are across different distances. But here’s the thing. Most people decide what their limits are before they ever test them. And that never made sense to me.
If you asked someone, “Would you make a claim about something you’ve never even tried?” most people would say no. But we do that all the time when it comes to ourselves. We say “I could never run that pace” or “I’m just not built for that” before we’ve taken a single step in that direction. That’s not honesty. That’s self-defeat.
I also want to be clear, applying limits isn’t always bad. Sometimes it’s smart. This past weekend I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon. I came in with the goal of running fast and seeing how far I could push myself in a race distance I’m less familiar with. I ended up running a personal best by four and a half minutes. But if I’m being honest, I wasn’t blown away by my performance, and that was by design.
The weather was brutal. Ninety-seven percent humidity. As a larger runner, I knew those conditions weren’t going to allow for top-end output. So I applied limits intentionally. I adjusted expectations. I still gave full effort for the day, but I made peace with the fact that I wouldn’t be chasing an all-time result. That’s not a cop-out. That’s self-regulation. That’s understanding how to work with external limitations without letting them define your worth.
Limitations aren’t always the enemy. But if you’re going to place one on yourself, it better come after you’ve actually tried. Not before.
|
| | | |
| | |
| Bernie’s Perspective: The Hospital Isn’t the Hard Part. Your Head Is.
It’s 5:10 AM, and Valerie (my wife) and I are driving toward Chester County Memorial Hospital. It’s quiet. Still. One of those mornings where your mind gets louder than the road. That’s the thing about moments like this, they don’t just test your body. They test the limits you’ve put on your own peace.
This started a couple years ago when I noticed a small bulge in my groin. Nothing major. I chalked it up to age and ignored it. But it kept shifting. Some days I could push it back in. Other days it pulled at my nerves. Not just physically, but mentally. And that’s when the real limitation showed up, fear.
My thoughts went straight back to when I was a kid, watching my father fight cancer. Three and a half years of slow, steady decline. That trauma carved a place in me. So when this minor issue appeared, my mind didn’t see a hernia. It saw history repeating itself.
That’s how limitations often work. They’re not always rooted in reality. Sometimes they come from the past. From unspoken grief. From stories we’ve told ourselves so many times they start to sound like truth.
Eventually, I got checked. The diagnosis was clear: an inguinal hernia. Manageable. Treatable. Not life-threatening. But even with facts on my side, I canceled the surgery three times. One doctor retired. One appointment disappeared. One I skipped to put work first. And in each of those moments, I felt the quiet weight of an old mindset, the belief that taking care of myself was optional.
That’s the limitation I’m talking about. Not the hernia. The habit of self-denial. The inherited belief that strength means powering through. That mindset can look noble, but over time it becomes a cage.
When I finally committed to surgery, the fear didn’t disappear. But I approached it differently. I prepared. I reflected. I remembered that my father didn’t get the choice to intervene early. I did. And that meant I could choose a different path.
The night before, I couldn’t sleep. My mind spun through every worst-case scenario. But then it shifted. I started thinking about how many times I’ve faced discomfort and made it through. I remembered that limitations only define you if you never question them. And I remembered that mindset is the one thing no surgeon can operate on, it’s mine to strengthen.
The next morning, I walked into that hospital with uncertainty, but not defeat. Four days later, I’m healing. A little sore. A little slower. But lighter. Because the fear that once owned the story no longer runs the show.
So let me ask you:
What limitations in your life aren’t physical at all?
What habits, memories, or assumptions are holding more weight than the truth?
And when that old fear shows up again, are you willing to meet it with a new mindset?
Because sometimes the greatest limitation isn’t your body.
It’s the belief that you can’t change the way the story ends. |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
| The Science of Limitations: Brain and Body
Limitations aren’t just psychological. They show up in the body too. What we believe about our limits can directly influence how we think, how we feel, and how much we can actually do.
🧠 The Brain on Limitations
Your brain is wired to keep you safe, not to push you to your peak. That’s where a lot of limitations start.
- Limiting beliefs shape behavior. If you tell yourself “I’m not good at this,” your brain starts acting like it’s true. It reduces motivation and focus, even if the ability is there. Over time, that belief becomes the baseline.
- Most thoughts are recycled. Around 95% of the thoughts you have today are the same ones from yesterday. Which means if you’ve been doubting yourself for a while, that doubt is on repeat. It becomes familiar, and familiarity feels safe, even if it’s holding you back.
- Fear hijacks focus. The brain’s fear center, the amygdala, activates when we hit a perceived limit. It can trigger emotional reactivity and make it harder to problem-solve or think clearly. This is why limitations often feel bigger than they really are, your brain is flagging risk, not reality.
🩺 The Body on Limitations
What you believe also changes how your body performs.
- Your brain sets a ceiling. The “central governor” theory suggests your brain limits muscle recruitment to protect you from pushing too hard. That’s why your body might feel done before it actually is. The limiter is your nervous system, not your muscle tissue.
- Mental fatigue drains endurance. Studies show that people who do a hard thinking task before a workout fatigue faster, even when their body is physically fine. Their perception of effort is higher, which means they quit sooner.
- Adaptation needs limits. Pushing past a threshold is how we grow, but we need to hit that limit first. That’s the stress-recovery cycle. The limit signals the need to rest, and the rest is where the growth happens. No limit, no trigger. No recovery, no change.
Limiting beliefs affect how your brain allocates effort. Physical limits influence how your body adapts. And both can shift, with awareness, strategy, and time. |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
| 🐅 Tiger Resilience Lens: Limitations vs. Limits
“Limitations” and “limits” sound similar, but they’re not the same.
- A limitation is a belief, condition, or constraint that restricts action or growth.
Some are real and protective. Others are outdated or internalized stories we’ve outgrown.
- A limit is a boundary. It marks where you are now, and gives you something to build from or work around.
Not every limitation is harmful. But every limitation deserves to be examined.
When we treat limitations as fixed and final, they shrink our capacity.
When we work with them like evolving limits, we grow with focus and direction.
Here’s how that shift plays out through our Five Pillars:
|
Aspect
|
Limitations (Believed restrictions)
|
Limits (Current boundaries)
|
|
Purpose
|
Can blur your direction. You might assume a limitation defines what you’re meant for.
|
Clarifies what matters. Limits help focus your energy and align with your values.
|
|
Planning
|
Can cause hesitation or avoidance. The plan stalls before it starts.
|
Helps shape the plan. Knowing your limits makes strategy more realistic and efficient.
|
|
Practice
|
Can lead to avoidance. “I’m not good at this” becomes a reason to quit.
|
Creates structure. Limits give you a clear baseline to build from with consistent effort.
|
|
Perseverance
|
Can feel like a stop sign. Setbacks reinforce the idea that growth isn’t possible.
|
Acts as a checkpoint. You learn, recover, and continue with better tools.
|
|
Providence
|
Can trigger frustration or self-doubt. “Why is this happening to me?”
|
Invites trust. Some limits redirect you toward a path that’s more aligned or sustainable.
|
|
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
| 🏋️♂️ Michael’s Training Corner: Training Within Limits to Break Through Them
Limits aren’t the enemy. They’re how we structure smart training. Every effective program uses limits to guide adaptation, not restrict it.
Here’s how that works in real coaching:
- Periodization relies on limits. You train different systems in different phases. Strength, endurance, speed, each needs focused stress with intentional recovery. You don’t chase everything at once.
- Capping volume or intensity preserves adaptations. Deload weeks, rest days, or zone-based work protect your nervous system and reduce injury risk while progress continues.
- Limits make training measurable. You define ranges for pace, weight, reps, or time. This keeps your output aligned with your goal and avoids wasted effort.
But some limits don’t come from your training plan. They come from the way you see yourself.
- Internal limitations are often outdated. That old injury, that bad race, that label you picked up years ago, they linger longer than they should.
- The body adapts. The brain needs proof. That’s why we track metrics. You need visible signs of growth to override the default belief that you’re still stuck.
- If you’ve trained for months but think like you did at week one, you’ll perform like it. Your self-concept has to evolve with your ability.
The key isn’t to remove every limit. It’s to work within the right ones, and let go of the ones that no longer serve you.
In strength, conditioning, and recovery, limits are a framework.
In mindset, they’re a challenge.
Your job is to know the difference. |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
🌎 Real-World Example: Temple Grandin — Working with the Brain You Have
Temple Grandin is a scientist, inventor, and advocate who’s reshaped the world’s understanding of neurodiversity. Diagnosed with autism in early childhood, she was told she’d never speak, never succeed, and never live independently. But she didn’t try to escape her limitations. She learned how to work with them.
Her story isn’t about pushing past everything. It’s about tuning into how the brain really works and adapting strategy around it.
Here’s how she reframed her limits into impact:
- She studied how her mind worked instead of wishing it were different. Her visual thinking style, once seen as a deficit, became a strength in designing systems still used in animal science today.
- She used structure as a support, not a restriction. Schedules, systems, and clear goals helped her navigate the world more effectively, especially in overstimulating environments.
- She challenged the narrative that ability is fixed. Grandin became a professor, author, and global speaker, all by reshaping the environment around her rather than trying to reshape herself.
- She turned personal experience into professional insight. Her limitations gave her a unique lens, which she used to build better systems for others.
Temple Grandin’s life is a reminder that limitations don’t always need to be overcome. Sometimes they need to be respected, worked with, and redefined.
🛒 The Autistic Brain by Temple Grandin is available on Amazon
|
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
| 📓 Journal Exercise: Redefining the Line
This week’s exercise is about getting honest with your limitations, not to shame them, but to see them clearly. Some may be real. Others may be habits in disguise. Either way, awareness is the first move forward.
Take 10 minutes and work through the prompts below. Don’t overthink. Just respond honestly.
- What’s one limitation you keep bumping into right now?
Is it internal (a belief, a fear) or external (a time constraint, a physical factor)?
- What’s the story behind it?
Where did this limitation come from? Is it something you’ve outgrown but still carry?
- What is this limitation protecting you from?
Comfort zone? Embarrassment? Risk? Be specific.
- What might change if you let yourself challenge it?
Not destroy it. Not deny it. Just test it with intention.
- Write a new version of the story.
Even if it’s just one sentence. Example:
“I’ve always struggled with consistency” becomes
“I’m learning to show up more often, even when it’s uncomfortable.”
If this opened something up for you, our Awaken the Tiger, Rise Like the Phoenix journal includes more guided prompts like these, with space to explore your limits, reclaim your confidence, and rebuild your foundation with clarity.
🛒 Grab your copy on Amazon |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
|
Final Thoughts: Growth at the Edge
Most people wait to grow until they feel ready. But real growth starts at the edge, where you’re not fully confident, not guaranteed to succeed, and not quite sure what’s next.
That’s where limitations show up. Some are meant to be respected. Others are meant to be challenged. The real work is learning the differenc, and building the mindset, structure, and resilience to meet both with clarity.
At Tiger Resilience, we use the Five Pillars to guide that process:
- Purpose to name what matters
- Planning to move with intention
- Practice to stay consistent
- Perseverance to navigate setbacks
- Providence to trust the process, even when the path isn’t linear
Limits will always exist. But limitations don’t have to stay in control.
You are not defined by where you start.
You are shaped by what you choose to rise through.
Stay steady. Stay curious. And as always,
Stay Resilient
Bernie & Michael
Tiger Resilience 🐅
🔥 The Tiger's Den - FREE Community Membership🔥
🐅 Welcome to the Tiger Resilience Community
This isn’t just a group—it’s a movement.
The Tiger Resilience Community is a free, transformational space for real people ready to rise. Whether you're rebuilding from adversity or leveling up in your career, relationships, health, or inner life—this is where you belong.
Built around our Five Pillars—Purpose, Planning, Practice, Perseverance, and Providence—this community unites body, mind, heart, and spirit for lasting growth.
What you get as a free member: ✅ Biweekly Live Sessions (Fridays, 5:30–6:30 PM ET): Open conversations, coaching, and real talk.
✅ Support & Accountability: Connect with others who are on the same journey.
✅ Tools for Real Change: From communication skills to mindset strategies, fitness insights, and planning systems—we cover it all.
✅ Lifetime Value: Join now, and you’ll be grandfathered into our full membership when it launches—at zero cost.
This is your call to rise.
We’re not here to play small. We’re here to step into the arena—together.
Come build resilience. Come build your future.
Come join the Den.
🔥 Rise Strong and Live Boldly in the Bond of the Phoenix.
👉 Click Button Below 📍
🐅 Rise Strong and Live Boldly in the Bond of the Phoenix. Your journey starts today.
Visit us at Tiger-Resilience.com to learn more!
📚 References
Luskin, F. (2002). Forgive for good: A proven prescription for health and happiness. HarperOne.
https://www.amazon.com/Forgive-Good-Proven-Prescription-Happiness/dp/006251721X
Marcora, S. M., Staiano, W., & Manning, V. (2009). Mental fatigue impairs physical performance in humans. Journal of Applied Physiology, 106(3), 857–864.
https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.91324.2008
Noakes, T. D., St Clair Gibson, A., & Lambert, E. V. (2005). From catastrophe to complexity: A novel model of integrative central neural regulation of effort and fatigue during exercise in humans: Summary and conclusions. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 39(2), 120–124.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1724893/
PA Life. (2018, November 6). 79% of women regularly lack confidence at work.
https://palife.co.uk/news/79-of-women-regularly-lack-confidence-at-work/
Georgia State University. (2021). Feeling the heat? Fear of failure and performance. Andrew Young School of Policy Studies Research Paper Series.
https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/ays_cslf_workingpapers/51/
Rethink Mental Illness. (2023, May). ‘Stigma effect’ stops three in five people experiencing mental illness from seeking help, survey reveals.
https://www.rethink.org/news-and-stories/media-centre/2023/05/stigma-effect-stops-three-in-five-people-experiencing-mental-illness-from-seeking-help-survey-reveals/
TorchLight Hire. (2022). The confidence gap: How impostor syndrome disproportionately affects women.
https://torchlighthire.com/the-confidence-gap-how-imposter-syndrome-disproportionately-affects-women/
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.). Physical activity – Healthy People 2030.
https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/physical-activity
Robinson, B. (2024, January 25). Number 1 reason employees stay in dead-end careers and jobs they hate. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2024/01/25/number-1-reason-employees-stay-in-dead-end-careers-and-jobs-they-hate/
Centre for Educational Neuroscience. (n.d.). Intelligence is fixed. Neuromyth or Neurofact?
https://www.educationalneuroscience.org.uk/resources/neuromyth-or-neurofact/intelligence-is-fixed/
Zhao, Y., Wang, L., & Wu, D. (2024). The effect of self-efficacy and self-set grade goals on academic performance. Frontiers in Psychology.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1324007/full
Grandin, T., & Panek, R. (2013). The autistic brain: Thinking across the spectrum. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
https://www.amazon.com/Autistic-Brain-Thinking-Across-Spectrum/dp/0544227735
|
| | | |
|
