Draw boundaries and know your limitations in what you can and can’t provide

There’s a difference between what you’d like to accomplish for people (and in life at large) and what you can, in realistic, concrete terms, actually do.

Even the prompts above ask us to consider our thoughts in a void — without responsibilities, in an ideal world. But that’s not how things will shake out IRL.

It’s time to reckon with reality and figure out how much you can handle

• Are you a caregiver? Sole support for your family?

• Battling demons or chronic illness?

• Balancing work with school?

• Or forget the heavy stuff altogether — are you a midnight oil night owl or a rise before the sun morning bird?

Starting up a business, service or otherwise, takes a lot of bandwidth. You need to be level-headed and realistic about it. Sure, you’re going to learn some new things about how you want to live and work, but you aren’t going to transform into a brand new human.

If you go in with a good understanding of your boundaries and limitations you won't need to manage customer expectations down the line. You won’t need to risk burnout and make major overhauls just to keep things going without losing your mind.

Remember this startup adage, dear human: You’re not sprinting. This is a marathon. And you’re not a productivity robot.