Many of our friends have children who are graduating, and they are kind enough to invite us to celebrate with them. Commencement speakers often proffer advice, but sometimes words of wisdom come from an unexpected source.
I recently sat next to a gentleman who reminded me of the importance of knowing our own limits. This person was a prominent television personality at a major Midwestern affiliate. He had been the anchor for an early morning news show and had to be in the studio at 4 a.m., which meant that he needed to rise at 3 a.m. each day. To get seven hours of sleep a night, he needed to go to bed by 8 p.m. He shared with me that he did not like that routine and thought he could have a social life like "normal people." Because he often participated in community activities, he routinely got only three or four hours of sleep a night.
You can predict what happened. His on-air performance deteriorated. The ratings — essential to advertisers — went downhill and he was dismissed from his position. All because he did not acknowledge his own limits.
During the professional basketball playoffs, we saw another situation where one team, the Los Angeles Lakers, was clearly fatigued after a tough schedule. They were playing the Denver Nuggets, a team that was well rested. Although the Lakers ultimately won the series, it was obvious that they were pushing the limits of their stamina and endurance.
We too need to remind ourselves that we only have so much energy in our battery. If we continue to drain it with demands and commitments, the battery goes dead. So, we need to respect our limits — physically and emotionally. We may have the best of intentions to do the right thing for friends and family, but if we exhaust ourselves everyone loses.
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