Ask HN: Are you better at determining your mental limits than your boss?
And if so, doesn't this imply that you can only push yourself to the limit (and not over) via hobby/indie projects?
Ordinary lay persons are terrible at interpreting their own personal limits.
Similarly, most peoples are even worse at interpreting the internal states or limits of others.
As a rule, what is most productive is the commodification of consistent competence. Humans are however capable of vastly more than their comfortable pace suggests.
This “vastly more” however comes at a price. Psychological change is the most difficult thing for humans to undergo.
Try quitting caffeine or nicotine for instance. Or eat well and get regular exercise. These things will make anyone infinitely better off, yet are enormous undertakings.
Similarity, bringing forth the highest part of your capabilities are insurmountable without deliberate motivation, and TIME.
Pushing past, and redeveloping limits are certainly possible in most if not all, yet unlikely until the subject is ready to commit.
Some can see this in others, though it is a quandary which can destroy an otherwise good relationship if taxed.
How are people better off by quitting caffeine?
For instance after over a decade of heavy caffeinating I get rashes and welts when “it’s time to quit”. Sure enough, after roughing through two downer weeks (the time it takes to fully extricate caffeine from one’s system) everything goes back to normal.
After getting caffeine out of the system, the mind goes about normal functionality “caffeine debt free”. Though hitting it again is very tempting as it’s “just like the first time” all over again!