[partisan]

A wise and respected co-worker once told me "know your limits" when I asked him how he managed to stay at a place for 10 years when it did not provide professional challenges or growth. At the time, I was young and "unlimited" and took his advice to mean that I should settle for something less than ideal, but since years have passed and I have a family of my own now, I look back on that advice with a different view: when you know your limits, you can work around them. I recently learned I have ADD. That simple knowledge has helped me to put little countermeasures in place that help to balance out my limitations; I pat myself down for the four essentials that should be with me when I leave the house and I put those easentials in the same place when I come home each day. Knowing your limits professionally means you can work to mitigate those limitations. If you know you don't have time to waste anymore because of your obligations, well then figure out what you want from life and use your limited time to accomplish those goals. Set realistic expectations for yourself based on what you know you can do, when you can do it, how you can do it.

Truthfully, I know what he really meant with his words: he had a wife and family who were his primary concern and he was happy to put his professional concerns on the back burner to give them a good life and to be able to enjoy that good life with them.