This was to be my post for Saturday, June 14’s Database Weekly. But I have moved on from Redgate and on to different things. Ironically a lot of the posts I had written lately were about changing jobs. For example What’s Your Price and What About Loyalty?, not to mention a forthcoming piece from Sheila Romans about using AI in your job search that I had scheduled.

Part of me feels at my limit today, but thankfully only part of me. 

Here is the meat of the post

No matter who you are, or what you do, you have limits. I wrote about this not that long ago when I wrote “lies to believe, you can do anything” but this bears repeating often: “you are limited.”  

As I age (as all of you living beings are…AI can just ignore some of this), I live through more and more stuff. Fun stuff, painful stuff, and plain old mundane stuff. What I have learned is that, for better and worse, my limits change. Regularly, and sometimes for no apparent reason at all. The biggest reason for these changes is, a mystery.  

Some seem mental 

Physical activity is one place where my ability to go farther and farther changes often. 20 minutes on a treadmill I drove to and I am “tired.” Yet at a conference like PASS Summit or even here at Walt Disney World where I am writing this first draft during some vacation down time, a lot of the time it takes 30 minutes of walking to get to more walking and standing. A lot of that is that I want to go there, and the treadmill, despite its value on the way to increasing stamina, is taking me nowhere.  

This can easily be extended into my work in technology. Sometimes I feel like I must be dumb because I cant grok some concept that I have been assured is simple. For example, I could not seem to get Oracle installed on my Windows machine to test some code, and someone at Oracle told me this: https://x.com/thatjeffsmith/status/1582874002673922048?s=46 and https://x.com/thatjeffsmith/status/1582877992501452800?s=46 

Keeping at it helps.

Some are really hard limits 

Limits like this stink, but they are also part of what can be really make you special. For example, Usain Bolt is still considered the fastest human. It is an incredible accomplishment. He is also pretty slow in comparison to many other things. A train. A car. A greyhound (bus or dog). And as he ages, there are faster people now, despite not yet beating his records.  

I have limits due to many factors. I am medically not allowed to run unless my life depends on it. Have I tested this limit? Nope. Could I run faster than Usain Bolt if I needed to? “Maybe” would be a lie. And the fact that I have actually figured that if I was being chased and in mortal danger I would hope that my attacker felt it wasn’t fair because of how slow I am, says all I need it to say.  

Shifting limits 

As a technology person I know my limits. I know the kinds of software I know how to use and operate well enough to call myself an expert or a novice, and I know that I don’t work on hardware (especially printers.)  Except that when forced, I have been able to do what was needed with hardware that I feel like was my limit.  

Sometimes limits shift by force. Grant Fritchey, in a Simple Talks podcast episode that probably never ends up published, told the story of how he got into database work. It involved telling someone he could work on a database project, and then learning it. I hope he tells that story to someone else and you all hear it in his voice.

Finally, the point, after a common liability warning 

One of the ways you may work to get over limits is to start working out in a gym. If so, you have seen a warning that says “Before starting any exercise program, consult your physician.” A similar concern is true for every one of your limits. If you have any concern that they are hard limits, seek more advice that the editor of a technical website. On Friends, there was an episode where Pheobe made a resolution to fly a commercial plane. Thankfully she never did.

But even seeking that advice is a great first step. Most of our limits are not physical, they are mental. I am reminded of this every time I am afraid to do something. Fear is my biggest limitation, and it usually starts when I am in bed at 8am, and I need to get up. “Can I do what I need today? Am I capable?” 

The answer is not always yes, and it is even more rare that it starts out as yes. But more often than not, yesterday’s limits are just a wee bit less than tomorrow’s. And all it takes is to test your limits and push through even if it hurts a little.