50 responses to ““Human limitations are nearly always self imposed””

1. 

   Chris Perry December 2nd, 2009 at 07:51

   This reminds me of why I like to talk to many different people about ideas. I think talking to all different people gives you a different perspective because maybe those people are not counting out solutions. I know the more I learn the more my education gets in the way of possibilities, I skip over simple solutions because I already “know they wont work”. This is why I now seek out people who don’t know my subject when trying to come up with ideas or solutions to problems.

2. 

   Jennifer Cook December 2nd, 2009 at 08:06

   very inspiring!

3. 

   David Uhlenhake December 2nd, 2009 at 10:27

   This blog is very true. The human will and perseverance might be the greatest invention ever.

4. 

   Emily Wetterich December 2nd, 2009 at 10:36

   This is really cool, and so true. The biggest barrier in a lot of situations is our mind. It’s funny that so many runners could suddenly achieve the dream. I liked the video, but couldn’t they have chosen different music?

5. 

   Ankit Buti December 2nd, 2009 at 10:51

   This is a nice example to remember. I have myself believed in dreaming big since ever and I think this guy created history by doing just the same…I too liked the video.
   “Records are meant to be broken”

6. 

   Alex Lewis December 2nd, 2009 at 11:32

   That video had many interesting facts. I wonder if anyone could run it under three minutes.

7. 

   Christina Jacobs December 2nd, 2009 at 12:24

   Well that was rather inspirationational! It is amazing how the proof of one man running a mile in under four minutes inspired 16 others men to defeat that barrier by the year 1957.

8. 

   Stephen Williams II December 2nd, 2009 at 12:57

   This is so true. A lot of things I can do these days could have not been achieved unless I tried and believed that it is possible. I still have a lot of things I wish to do and I am working hard to do them. I think I should add another video that may help some to understand why they cannot do the “impossible”, when in face they are possible.

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThUaBAGJpQs

9. 

   Xi Wu December 2nd, 2009 at 13:40

   Blaise Pascal once said, “man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed.” Because of their special minds or spirits, humans have achieved a lot of impossible things. It is really great.

10. 

    Zacheriah Ruggles December 2nd, 2009 at 14:02

    Let your body physically max out not mentally, and you will find your true potential.

11. 

    Zhihneg Liu December 2nd, 2009 at 14:33

    One of the greatest Chinese writers Lu, Xun once wrote in his novel, “long ago, there wasn’t road in this world; as more and more people walk on the earth, it became a road.”

    Yes, there are roads in this world, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we can only walk on roads; to us, roads made our lives easier and more comfortable, but it also restricted us. We need the roads, we also need people who don’t walk on roads.

12. 

    Kyle Chen December 2nd, 2009 at 14:54

    Very true, what we think is the limit often is the limit in which we can’t break through. Thats why I like the quote “Dont tell me sky is the limit when they have footprint on the moon”

13. 

    Micajah Green December 2nd, 2009 at 16:42

    There are many inspirational quotes today! The video about Roger Bannister is awesome. There are so many things we can do, we just have to try and work toward our goals. It will not be handed to you, but all the work will be worth it in the end!

14. 

    Karlis Jansons December 2nd, 2009 at 17:00

    Thanks Hank, that was very inspirational. It’s amazing how much of a difference the right mentality can make.

15. 

    Brian Lee December 2nd, 2009 at 17:15

    Word. Nothing’s impossible. Bannister was the man. It’s actually pretty amazing what the human body can do and withstand. It’s always like this. Once people said people will never be able to fly. Once people said we could never get into space…

16. 

    Allison Weilbaker December 2nd, 2009 at 17:37

    My swim coach has said this to me over and over again and is now forever ingrained in my mind. It’s one of the reasons I’m majoring in engineering.

17. 

    Jenna York December 2nd, 2009 at 17:51

    Wow! What an awesome blog! This really hit home with me as swimming is a sport that depends upon 80% mental and 20% physical ability. I would definitely rather try and fail than had never tried at all.

18. 

    Lyndsey S. December 2nd, 2009 at 18:43

    Change is something many people do not know how to deal with. Whether it is a change in lifestyle, work, or making goals and striving to obtain them. When people set goals for themselves, regardless of society’s standards for its limitations, they will either work hard to obtain those goals or they won’t. It has a lot to do with a person’s personality and their environment. If you’ve ever read Who Moved My Cheese, you will see that there are four types of people: (1) those who hurry to get things done, (2) those who look for new things to be done, (3) those who finally do something based off of others, and (4) those who don’t do anything at all. — Scurry, Sniff, Haw, and Hem are the characters in the book.

19. 

    Marisa Strupp December 2nd, 2009 at 18:44

    This is incredible! One of the best blogs to date. It is great that he never gave up and persevered.

20. 

    Greg Forney December 2nd, 2009 at 18:50

    I like the picture haha, very cool.

21. 

    Alex Conkright December 2nd, 2009 at 18:53

    This blog is filled with inspiring language that i think everyone can learn from. I think it is human nature to push boundaries and challenge what is considered to be impossible. Science is proving everyday what we once thought was impossible is now possible. The video on the other hand had one of the least inspiring soundtrack i have ever heard

22. 

    Jim Smith December 2nd, 2009 at 19:06

    Awesome quote!

23. 

    Sree Harsha Uddandam December 2nd, 2009 at 20:13

    Very inspiring blog indeed. It is the thought to dream big that most successful entrepreneurs followed.

    “Think big, think fast, Think ahead, Ideas are no ones monopoly.”

24. 

    Phillip Jenkins December 2nd, 2009 at 20:23

    Limitations are by definition imposed by something or someone. Gravity, laws of nature, restrictions set up in our mind. However, we learned to fly (not literally), we have changed the face of medical science by reprogramming DNA, and I have 2 videos that show the capability of the human mind.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSOaLH8vxYw

    http://www.youtube.com/v/UqLzoiVzEY8

    Our bodies are designed to adapt, radically.

25. 

    Olivia Freeman December 2nd, 2009 at 20:30

    AHHH this just makes me want to go out and do something impossible! I believe that we all have dreams and we all would like to achieve those dreams. Sometimes it is extremely hard to push through after we fail numerous times and fall flat on our face. Its amazing, the 4 minute mile. I think that sometimes as human beings we underestimate ourselves and put too much weight on the feeling of failure or the potential to fail. When really if we went out with an attitude where you did not care if you if win or loose, you cared that you tried your best then I think more people would be happy in the occupations.

    On the video—different background music would definitely be more appealing

26. 

    Cara Cymbala December 2nd, 2009 at 21:21

    I think I’ve already accomplished what in my mind was impossible. At the end of my senior year in high school, a week before the last day of class, I was failing just about all of my classes. My principal and guidance counselor called me into the office and cried with me when they told me I wasn’t going to graduate. I took the finals, passed all my classes, and threw a cap and gown on. I was also always told that I would never make it to college, and here I am. I’ve learned to not let peoples’ negative opinions put me down, but give me one more reason to be great. (not exactly what the video was trying to get across, I know, but that’s how I relate)

27. 

    Erica Lied December 2nd, 2009 at 22:14

    I think that is an amazing perspective. The quote is so true that “Human limitations are nearly always self imposed.” I find the video to be a little hokey due to the music. But I think the blog makes the quote come to life. If we don’t dream and take chances we will not achieve anything new. This is why entrepreneurs are so important to the world. We keep it growing!

28. 

    Zheng Wang December 2nd, 2009 at 22:28

    People can not find out the degree of their potentail when they are under huge pressure.

29. 

    Brent McClean December 2nd, 2009 at 23:22

    Nice blog with true inspiration

30. 

    Chris Cookley December 3rd, 2009 at 00:11

    This is a excellent reminder that people can do great things. If you put your mind to something, truly believe in your heart that you can accomplish it, and put in the work and effort needed, you can do anything. It should never be forgotten.

31. 

    Bin Lin December 3rd, 2009 at 00:58

    this article is so true, it did not just introduce the story of a person, but also conveyed a spirit to the audience. According to Zhiheng Liu’s comment–”One of the greatest Chinese writers Lu, Xun once wrote in his novel, ‘long ago, there wasn’t road in this world; as more and more people walk on the earth, it became a road,’”, readers can easily interpreted that nothing is impossible, if you wanna make a difference.

32. 

    Ashley Grice December 3rd, 2009 at 01:26

    This a very good blog to read so close to the end of a semester and the end of my college carear!!

33. 

    Nathan Ferguson December 3rd, 2009 at 02:35

    I have thought about this before many times. When is a record so fast no one will ever beat it? I guess it can always be done

34. 

    Quentin Campbell December 3rd, 2009 at 07:57

    This was probably most evident at the last olympic games when team Jamaica purely dominated the other teams.

35. 

    Andrew Rodriguez December 3rd, 2009 at 10:37

    Very true statement, and rather inspiring. People, as a part of their nature, often settle for what is known, what is comfortable because there is something scary about the unknown. This also applies to the unknown of where you’ll stand in 5 years if you attempt to start a business. People need to have the courage to work for their dream.

36. 

    Rohan Thakkar December 3rd, 2009 at 12:15

    inspiring like David Blaine always pushing yourself

37. 

    Sanford C December 3rd, 2009 at 12:22

    impossible is nothing, we all know that but its hard to achieve, why? mhmm…

38. 

    Amber Illig December 3rd, 2009 at 13:33

    I agree that everything is always changing and we should never cross something out as a possibility. It reminds me of my Globalization in Engineering course that I’m taking. Today we talked about the future of globalization. My professor brought up some interesting topics about the future of Globalization. He brought up the fact that not too long ago, it was looked down upon that there could be life outside of this world. Now, it is quite possible that there could be extraterrestrial life. Maybe in the future, the universe will be the global and this earth will be local. In the same way, before 1492, Native Americans probably thought there were no other people living outside of their community until the Europeans came. Whether or not the extraterrestrial theory comes true, it is liberating to consider everything a possibility. Examples of the impossible becoming possible have been present all throughout history. We should learn from this and be open to new ideas, even if they seem weird at first.

39. 

    Leah Keough December 3rd, 2009 at 16:08

    This is a huge inspiration and a great video! It is important to know hard work, passion, and determination will get you where you want to go, even if it requires you to get out of your comfort zone and not just settle for less than what you really want.

40. 

    Yi Li December 3rd, 2009 at 17:53

    Very inspiring. People’s mind shouldn’t be limited by the traditional thought. They should always keep their mind open and try to do something new. This also works for entrepreneurs.

41. 

    Sungjae December 3rd, 2009 at 21:13

    I really respect Roger Bannister. Running a mile within 4 min takes years of practice. Running 15 sec 100 meters constantly. I think this is very inspiring. Just like it mentioned from the blog, we have to always live our lives to our fullest potential.

42. 

    Kevin B. December 5th, 2009 at 11:00

    This is why I love working out. You can see the drastic changes your body makes over time and how much strength you gain from it. It is amazing and it only keeps getting better and better. WIth the right mindset you can reach your goals.

43. 

    Eugene December 6th, 2009 at 08:58

    Couldn’t agree more

44. 

    Josh Johnson December 6th, 2009 at 20:28

    Very inspiring. Shows that hard work and believing in yourself even when noboyd else does is a very powerful thing.

45. 

    Michael Mullen December 8th, 2009 at 14:44

    I enjoyed the video and that picture is awesome!

46. 

    Theresa Reinhart December 8th, 2009 at 21:00

    I think it is true, that people don’t try to accomplish something simply because they are too afraid to do it for the first time. When it has already been done, there is a manual on what to do and what not to do and the person usually states what they would have done differently, etc. Even though I say this, I find it hard for myself to practice this very idea.

47. 

    Heath Hiatt December 8th, 2009 at 21:23

    This is definitely true. I always wonder how many credit hours per semester I could actually take if I didn’t have the mindset of “18 is a huge unmananagable load.” Even if I spend the 2:1 ratio of studying to in class time that’s only 54 hours a week, and let’s be real, who actually does that? My Mom has had to work 80 hours some weeks so I know I can handle much more than I volunteer myself for.

48. 

    Marisa Nakajima December 8th, 2009 at 23:16

    Very true, and inspiring. Thanks Hank

49. 

    Alex Selby December 10th, 2009 at 13:46

    A lot of that is psychological, I remember learning in psych that if somebody tells you that you’re something fairly often “like you’re very handsome” people will reflect that and carry that attitude around with them. Same with limits, you can convince yourself that youre stronger and thus be able to lift more, but you still can’t move mountains.

50. 

    Steve Shih December 11th, 2009 at 21:19

    Wow!!! this is very inspirational