How the Dragon Ball Series Shows Us The Importance of Overcoming Limitations
The moral case for overcoming the things that limit you.
Most people have some kind of limitation.
Try as they might, humans don't have the capacity to breathe under water. Without some kind of mechanical transport, people can't fly. There are just some things which people will never have the ability to do. What's important is whether or not you allow such limitations to stop you. Even if people can't breathe under water, they can push themselves to see how long they can stay under water without having to come up for air. Not being able to fly doesn't stop some people from trying to jump long distances, fly over canyons on a motorcycle or climb mountains to leap off just to see how far you can actually go. The existence of limits doesn't stop people from trying to move beyond them. For some people, limitations are a challenge rather than a barrier.
So much so that we find ways to honour people who push themselves beyond the limits of human potential. We like to see people try to overcome what's holding them back and even have contests to see who can come out on top through things like the Olympics as well as regional competitions. It's part of why we keep records of these accomplishments. As a way of knowing when someone has been able to break through and achieve even greater heights. Those who do are seen as champions. In some ways they are heroes of humanity showing our boundless potential as a species. Seeing these happen gives us all kinds of powerful motivations to break through barriers in whatever we're doing. They give us hope that it is possible for anyone to achieve such greatness and to be celebrated for it.
In contrast, when someone tells you that you've reached your limit, it's often met with annoyance and in some cases anger and resentment. You come to regard someone who says you can't do something as just another limitation. An obstacle getting in the way of your need to push yourself further. To the point that if and when you do finally get beyond that limit and prove that person wrong, there's an inherent pride people feel in being able to do that. Showing them that you're not as limited as some people would like you to believe.
The Dragon Ball series is at its core about the need to overcome limitations. Of saying no to the idea that there's a point at which you should just stop. Nowhere is this more evident than in the character of Goku. Time and again he's told that he can't do something. That he can't achieve what he wants to achieve. More often than not, it's a battle he can't win against a stronger opponent. Every time he's told this however, he refuses to accept that as true. And when he does push himself to achieve these things, he finds a way to overcome it.
Which doesn't mean that doing so isn't hard. His journey to such an achievement is extremely painful and sometimes leaves him near death, and in a couple situations actually dead. Yet even death is not a barrier to his ultimate goal. Only his belief that he can't do something is. At the same time, he inspires those around him to go further than they ever have. To do more than they think they can. It's a beautiful sight to behold.
Do yourself a favour and overcome your own limits by checking out the Dragon Ball series when you can.
Check out Dragon Ball, the sequel series Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super on Crunchy Roll as well as Hulu and Amazon.