Feeling Ten Feet Tall: How Reframing Limitations Unlocks Impact, Confidence, and Connection

What happens when the dream in front of you feels out of reach?

If you work in disability services, education, or nonprofit programming, you’ve likely witnessed the heartbreak of untapped potential—times when a person’s worth or capability is dismissed, not just by others, but by themselves.

But you’ve also seen the opposite: the spark that ignites when someone breaks through their fear, challenges what’s “expected,” and discovers what they’re truly capable of.

This blog is an invitation—to shift your lens. To see limitations not as stop signs, but as starting lines. Not as weaknesses, but as opportunities for creativity, compassion, and connection.

🚧 What If the Limitation Isn’t the Problem?

Here’s a truth that might surprise you:

Limitations are rarely the problem.
How we respond to them is.

I’ve lived with cerebral palsy all my life. I’ve heard the assumptions, felt the weight of expectations—or lack thereof. I’ve seen how quickly the world can focus on what we can’t do, instead of exploring what’s possible.

Eventually, those external messages can take root. We internalize them. We stop trying. We shrink our dreams to fit someone else’s imagination.

But here’s the thing: Belief changes the equation. And belief is something we can choose—and model.

⛰️ The Rope Course That Changed My Grid

Years ago, I was on a retreat with friends. One of the challenges: a high ropes course, 35 feet in the air.

Every part of me hesitated. My brain said, “Not for you.” But my spirit said, “What if it is?”

So I climbed.

It was exhausting. It was slow. But step by step, I made it through. And when I finished, I didn’t just feel ten feet tall—I felt thirty-five feet tall.

Because I showed up. Because I tried.
And because I gave myself permission to redefine what I thought was possible.

🏢 Reframing Limitations in Programs and Classrooms

If you’re a Program Director, Administrator, or Educator, you hold tremendous influence.

Too often, “limitation” triggers a lowered bar. But what if we reframed it as:

• A reason to personalize learning or services?

• A challenge that invites collaboration?

• A way to strengthen empathy, perseverance, and problem-solving?

You’re not just overseeing programming. You’re helping rewrite personal narratives. You’re shaping what people believe they can do.

That’s impact.

🎓 Why Educational Leaders Need This Mindset

In schools, the stakes are even higher. I was once told I didn’t belong in mainstream classrooms. That my path would be different—and smaller.

But I graduated from a top university, became a published author, coach and speaker.

Why? Because someone believed in me.
Because someone stopped focusing on my limits and started investing in my growth.

And you can be that person for someone else.

🧭 How to Help People Feel Ten Feet Tall

Use these five principles in your organization or school:

1. Start with Belief
Assume ability first. Then explore what support is needed.

2. Honor the Process
Celebrate effort—not just perfection. Progress is progress.

3. Co-Create the Path
Ask: “What would success look like for you?” Then listen.

4. Reframe the Story
Support people in seeing their past setbacks as stepping stones, not failures.

5. Normalize Trying Again
Failure isn’t final. Growth is iterative.

🔍 Team and Client Reflections

Bring these questions to your next staff meeting, client session, or classroom:

• Does the topic of goals bring up pain? What needs to heal?

• When did you last try, despite fear?

• Where in your life—or your client’s—do you need to make the final call on what’s possible?

🧠 The Real Barrier? Disbelief.

We often overestimate obstacles and underestimate the power of our own decisions.

I’m not suggesting you ignore real challenges. I’m suggesting you stop letting them decide the story.

Every time you choose to show up, to support, to stretch—despite fear—you’re creating new possibilities. For yourself. And for those you serve.

About the Author:
Sam Miller is the founder of Dreaming Made Simple and the author of I’MPOSSIBLE and I’MPOSSIBLE JOURNEY. A keynote speaker, coach, and disability advocate, Sam helps organizations reframe challenges and foster inclusive, possibility-driven environments.

Let’s Continue the Conversation:
What’s one “limitation” you’ve helped reframe into a strength?
Tag a colleague or share this with someone who helps others grow.

#DisabilityServices #EducationalLeadership #InclusiveProgramming #GrowthMindset #Resilience #DayPrograms #TraumaInformedCare #LeadershipDevelopment #DreamingMadeSimple #Neurodiversity