--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Before kids, I was really going to the…" description: "\"Before kids, I was really going to the limit. Afterwards, I was approaching the limit but then maybe turning around.\" — Reinhold Messner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/reinhold-messner-3556_around_before-kids-i-was-really-going-to-the-li_2780179.jpg" --- # Before kids, I was really going to the limit. Afterwards… ![“Before kids, I was really going to the limit. Afterwards, I was approaching the limit but then maybe turning around.” quote by Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/reinhold-messner-3556_around_before-kids-i-was-really-going-to-the-li_2780179.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/reinhold-messner-3556_around_before-kids-i-was-really-going-to-the-li_2780179.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/reinhold-messner-3556_around_before-kids-i-was-really-going-to-the-li_2780179.jpg) > “Before kids, I was really going to the limit. Afterwards, I was approaching the limit but then maybe turning around.” [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes how extreme pursuits change perspective, moving from reckless limits to measured boundaries and reflection. **In simple terms:** Adventure shifts from reckless to reflective. Key Takeaway Recognize when limits become guides. Themes adventure self‑reflection growth Mood contemplative reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - mountaineering - career planning - personal development Key Concepts psychology risk management Questions to Reflect On - How do you know when to push or pull back? - What signals indicate a healthy boundary? A Different Perspective Limits can become self‑imposed constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [I think I'll always write. Performing? I probably won't be touring for the rest of my life. I think that I might have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruel/i-think-i-ll-always-write-performing-i-probably-won-t-be-touring-for/) Ruel > [My childhood is always going to limit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/my-childhood-is-always-going-to-limit-me/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [Nobody is going to put a limit on what I'm doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-phelps/nobody-is-going-to-put-a-limit-on-what-i-m-doing/) [Michael Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-phelps/) > [I joined the PBA way before I should have because I heard a rumor they were going to limit the number of people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-johnson/i-joined-the-pba-way-before-i-should-have-because-i-heard-a-rumor/) [Don Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-johnson/) > [I'm never going to limit myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-nell-tipton/i-m-never-going-to-limit-myself/) [Ashley Nell Tipton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-nell-tipton/) > [More government isn't going to help you get ahead. 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He's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/the-cliches-that-circulate-in-the-german-media-about-joachim-sauer/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [Climbing is not a competition, and you cannot talk in terms of 'greatest,' it means nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/climbing-is-not-a-competition-and-you-cannot-talk-in-terms-of/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [Life is about daring to carry out your ideas. And for me, it always comes back to the wilderness, nature, mountains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/life-is-about-daring-to-carry-out-your-ideas-and-for-me-it-always/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [I have a very different fear if I'm all alone in the summit area of Mount Everest and if I know that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/i-have-a-very-different-fear-if-i-m-all-alone-in-the-summit-area-of/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [For years I was a rock climber and nothing else. I went to school, yes, and university, yes, but in my heart I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/for-years-i-was-a-rock-climber-and-nothing-else-i-went-to-school-yes/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [An account of an expedition is not a novel. Therefore an authentic account can never be given, let alone written down by someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/an-account-of-an-expedition-is-not-a-novel-therefore-an-authentic/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [Ueli Steck, I'm absolutely certain, had a very strong inner drive to keep pushing. He set very high standards for himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/ueli-steck-i-m-absolutely-certain-had-a-very-strong-inner-drive-to/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [I can't tell people to love mountains. They have to find their own way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/i-can-t-tell-people-to-love-mountains-they-have-to-find-their-own-way/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [...seen from above, landscapes are made up of mountains and watercourses. 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Many of them - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/out-of-all-the-climbers-of-this-generation-i-was-the-one-who-became/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [Bolts are the murder of the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/bolts-are-the-murder-of-the-impossible/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [Mountaineering is over. Alpinism is dead. Maybe its spirit is still alive a little in Britain and America, but it will soon die out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/mountaineering-is-over-alpinism-is-dead-maybe-its-spirit-is-still/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) > [The Dolomites are the most beautiful rock mountains in the world, but in a few million years they will just be desert.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/the-dolomites-are-the-most-beautiful-rock-mountains-in-the-world-but/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) [Explore all 119 Reinhold Messner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) ## More Around quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. 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So everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-everly/you-couldn-t-get-me-to-go-travel-around-and-sit-in-a-hotel-room-again/) [Phil Everly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-everly/) > [I drink maple syrup. Then I'm hyper so I just run around like crazy and work it all off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-mcadams/i-drink-maple-syrup-then-i-m-hyper-so-i-just-run-around-like-crazy/) [Rachel McAdams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-mcadams/) > [Music is almost like a therapy for me. It helps keep me centered and think straight. Before I discovered it, I was walking around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/music-is-almost-like-a-therapy-for-me-it-helps-keep-me-centered-and/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [I have to say, I grew up with fashion because my mother was a seamstress, and she had an atelier. 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