WEEK 30

Day 204: On Psychological Limits

The limit I thought existed was purely psychological. Now that I’d seen someone doing a thousand pounds, I started making leaps in my training. It showed the power of mind over body.

—Arnold Schwarzenegger 202

Our limits come primarily from our surroundings. If your role model of financial self-discipline is your uncle Jimmy (who somehow managed to save $500 this year), his example will set your own threshold — after all, he’s the only person you know who has managed to save money, so $500 saved in a year has to be a huge accomplishment.

Let’s imagine that your uncle has been networking with the movers and shakers and invited you out to a dinner with Bob, an owner of a local chain of bakeries. Bob instantly takes a liking to you, and answers all of your questions with enthusiasm.

When you ask him how much a person should save during a year, he says that everyone can easily save at least $5000 a year, and that’s actually what he did for several years, in order to save enough money to bootstrap his business. Suddenly your psychological limits stretch and now in your mind, it’s $5000 that’s a lot and $500 feels like nothing .

The same effect happens in virtually all areas of life, whether it’s finance, fitness, health, learning new skills, eradicating deeply-rooted negative habits or introducing new challenging ones.

Exposing yourself to high performers can be a wonderful way to push your psychological limits and show you what’s possible. Reading stories of average people like you or me who have managed to achieve their goals despite having no natural talent, resources, or any other hidden advantages works almost like brainwashing. What belonged to the realm of impossible is now something you know can be achieved.