Capacity refers to the amount that something can hold, contain, produce or do.
For the sake of this topic, we will refer to our professional or personal capacity, which is the maximum amount of results and output you are able to produce within specific timeframes, and under specific conditions.
In simple terms, capacity is the amount that you are able to do.
There are three broad avenues to increase your capacity. The first is to increase your perceived capacity, the second is to build an ability to maintain your capacity in sub-optimal conditions and lastly, to actively manage the main factors that unleash or hamper your capacity.
Let’s begin with the first one. The most important factor to know about capacity is that it is primarily limited by your own perception and subjective view.
Have you noticed that if you tell yourself that you can lift six reps of a certain weight, then rep seven will become perceptively more difficult.
If you had set your mental limit to eight reps, then you would only start feeling heavy at rep nine. These are called self-imposed limits.
We unknowingly have certain perceived capacity limits such as “I am able to only handle one important meeting per day” or “I cannot read that many pages in one sitting”.
The point here is that before you admit to an actual capacity limit, you must first make sure you have demolished all perceived limits.
This is where the 40% rule is useful. This rule was coined by the Navy Seals, which states that when your mind tells you that you are completely exhausted, you have actually only reached 40% of your true capability.
So next time you think you have absolutely extended yourself by working long or hard hours, remember that this is just your mind notifying you of your current or past limits, and that you still have about 60% more before you reach your true capacity.
