Where is Your True Limit? - The 40% Rule
How often do you feel tired and fatigued and actually challenge yourself to go farther? If you do go farther, are you pushing yourself as far as you can go? How can you find where your absolute physical limits are?
There’s a group of highly trained individuals who have mastered the art of pushing beyond their physical limitations. These are the Navy Seals. Navy Seals are some of the toughest and most highly trained individuals on the planet. To say that their training is intense would be an understatement. How is it possible for them to be taken to their absolute physical limit and still continue on? There is a rule the Navy Seals follow called the Forty Percent Rule. The rule is simple: when you think you’re done and reached your limit, you’re really only forty percent done.
The point where most people quit is the moment they first experience pain, and the natural human reaction when experiencing pain is to avoid it. We are neurologically wired to avoid pain. Think about when you accidentally put your hand on a hot stove top. Your immediate reaction is to pull your hand back. Our brains respond to all pain in the same way, with avoidance or with confrontation. Stopping at the first sign of pain and discomfort creates a false ceiling that isn’t even half of your full potential.
In order to make it through the other sixty percent and find your TRUE limit, you must increase your ability to tolerate discomfort and pain. This can only be done by consistently stepping outside your comfort zone and letting go of doubt, anxiety, and self-limiting thoughts. It’s easy to stop, listen to that voice of doubt, and give yourself an out. This is what most people do. Most people never truly know what they’re capable of because they’re afraid of what might happen. But if you want to reach your fullest potential and find your true limit, you must be willing accept the temporary discomfort and take yourself beyond it. It is the only way to become everything you are truly meant to be.
