Arguing for Limitations
I’m sure I’ve written about this before, but part of me wants to revisit it again – Arguing for our limitations.
There are countless things to argue about, but none less productive than an argument for our limitations. There are few things less limiting.
If you need a textbook example, look no further than a politician lobbying for a position that has failed miserably in the past. No credence is given to the abject failure of the policy, only the pontification of the proposed merits.
Facts aren’t considered when arguing for a limitation.
Most of the beliefs we own are limitations. They limit us from believing something else is possible. Once our beliefs become concrete, we become cement heads.
I once did a talk show and had the head nutritionist for the state as my guest. She was proposing a commonly held, de facto belief that it’s the amount of calories that you consume that determines if you will gain or lose weight.
I showed her a documented experiment I had read about. They took a female patient and put her on a 1500 calorie per day diet for three days and put her twin sister on a small watermelon only diet (5000 calories a day) for the same period. The sister who ate only watermelon lost more weight.
She immediately launched into the dangers of fad diets, something I was not proposing. I was just asking her if this fact disproved that weight gain or loss is more than just about calories. She came up with a zillion justifications but could not and would not answer the question. She was arguing for her limitations, which leaves no room to consider facts.
How do I limit myself? Let me count the ways.
Like the main character in the book, “Ishmael” says, “There is no argument to end the argument.”
Some people like to argue. They’re the ones I want representing me in court. They are not the people I would choose to hang around with because I find myself drawn into their limiting world of argumentation.
What limitation are you arguing for?
It’s easy to find. Just find something that’s not working in your life and see how many arguments you make to stay on the same course you’re on.
Arguing for our limitations is a national pastime. If we want to move forward, we need to find a new favorite sport.
Begin to notice what you argue for and you’ll discover that your argument is the limitation that prevents you from entertaining something new.
The formula for staying stuck is arguing for your limitations. The surefire cure is simple: Stop arguing!
All the best,
John
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