The Journey #11: Healthy Limits
I was thrilled to wake up on this already-exciting day to discover that my Mountain Minute newsletter from last week has been recognized as LinkedIn’s Idea of the Day.
Here’s the complete text of that article:
The basic idea: On the sole occasion that I went on a camping trip with other nine-year-old Cub Scouts like me, there was a kid who ate tea bags late one night just to get the other kids' attention. I remember everyone egging him on, taking advantage of his poor judgment to give them a few moments of amusement.
I quit as soon as we returned, not wanting to be part of a group that lacked any sort of healthy boundaries.
That's the purpose that limits serve, to mark the line between acceptable and unacceptable.
Although I don't remember any details beyond what I've already told you, I can imagine that the other kids thought to themselves: it's not my fault... Jimmy is dumb... he has poor judgment, not me.
On the contrary, your decision be part of crossing a healthy limit is absolutely your judgment... and you bear that responsibility.
A bit more background: The current problem with our society is that we not only lack healthy limits, but also that there is no accountability when people trample healthy limits. Again and again, we see people in positions of authority behave exactly like a group of irresponsible nine-year-olds lying to and teasing someone like poor Jimmy. They take advantage of him. They egg him on. And then—when something bad happens—they say, "It wasn't my fault!"
Nonsense.
To be clear, I'm not writing for the people who stomp all over healthy limits; I'm writing for everyone else. We have to hold such folks accountable for their actions, even if their actions are "just words."
When accountability disappears, chaos ensues
Accountability is what happens when there is a direct and timely correlation between an action and the appropriate consequences.
Whether you care most about your family, social justice, equal rights, your career, or the future of human civilization, one thing should be clear: when accountability disappears, so does the promise of a bright future.
When we let others ignore or destroy healthy limits, we bear just as much responsibility as they do.
As a society, we have grown more strident and less respectful of healthy limits. It is up to all of us to regain our respect for such limits.
Bruce Kasanoff is the founder of The Journey, a newsletter that helps you focus your life on what matters most. He is a social media ghostwriter for leading entrepreneurs.