Having a visionary mindset makes a person refuse to accept limitations. That can be a benefit, except when it’s a drawback. We all know someone who builds castles in the air but can’t lay the first brick on terra firma.

Your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness –that’s a truism for a reason.  I have confirmed this in my life the slow, painful way.  Dreaming big helps me attain more, unless I overreach my grasp. It’s wonderful that I can plan in detail. It’s another story if I lose track of the system I created and have to start over. Seeing the forest so well means that some of the trees can be out of focus. I might miss necessary steps and need to backtrack. Forgetting to factor margin into my day can prevent me from accomplishing everything I mean to do. 

Life fails me at times. I’m sidelined by illness, opportunities or failures bring delays, relationships need attention. Being unable to line circumstances up in a neat row humbles a planning person. That’s not entirely bad. It makes me, like the Velveteen Rabbit, tattered but real.

“I resent the limits of my imagination.” Walt Disney

I’m on the same page as Mr. Disney about this. I’d rather push than accept my limitations. I will admit that surrendering unwinnable battles spares a person untold frustration. I believe that point is a lot farther away than most of us think.

Naming what I can reasonably hope to achieve requires me to identify who I am and make peace with what I want. I live in this tension.

Whatever the struggle you might face — financial hardships, time constraints, relationship troubles, depression, or a host of other problems — the solution always begins with embracing the truth. In that simple surrender lies freedom.