Capacity Cap 🧢

Capacity is a topic that many of us discuss but I’m not sure if we’re completely honest about it. While capacity is definitely nuanced, we all can agree that whenever an elevator is at capacity, there’s still a way to fit one or two more people on if you choose. Initially you might move up or down the floor too… you might even make it safely to the floor that you are visiting… but everyone’s in danger during that ride.

Many of our brains, hearts, and lives are just like that elevator. We’re at capacity but we’re still piling more things and more people and more obligations into our container that is about to burst. And even though you feel like you can do all of these things, their symptoms that are showing that you’re at a bursting point. Sometimes bursting points look like your mental health. Sometimes bursting points look like your physical health. Sometimes bursting points look like your bad attitude and irritation. Sometimes bursting points look like not listening which leads to poor communication. Sometimes bursting points look like taking people’s kindness for weakness because you are honest about not being able to meet an obligation because you don’t have time.

Too many of us are capping about the capacity that we have. I know that we are talking that we could do it all and have it all, but Michelle Obama said it best when she said “you can have it all, just not at the same time.” it’s time that we be honest about what seasons were in in our lives and what we can do in that season. It doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to have or fulfill these desires ever, it’s just not time for that desire now. One of the things that has helped me is realizing that this season is a prerequisite for the next season, which might hold what I’ve been desiring. When we skipped the prerequisite season, it’s difficult to sustain a requested desire in the next season because we didn’t have enough practice with foundational work in the prerequisite season. We must let our symptoms be a warning on whether we’re capping on the amount of capacity that we have.

We’re always responsible for ourselves, and the capacity we honestly have to offer others.