Wasted talent and ability is the humiliation of humanity. The worst thing a person can do is have such great potential but so little confidence. The lack of confidence is a by-product of how a person sees him or herself, especially during times of extreme pressure and difficulty. Pressure exposes the faults, cracks or weaknesses in the armor (façade) people wear to appear strong. It is extremely easy to hide behind the thin paper veneer of words, but words without history are simply empty vessels.
The Invaluable Commodity
What makes a person great and his personality standout? Is it because he or she is funny or because they are smart? I would love to say these are important qualities of a self-assured person, but this is not the case. Many smart and funny people are undisciplined and irresponsible when it comes to performing on the grand stage of life. Life produces challenges that reveal our inability to handle timidity. What is actually missing in the majority of people with great potential is the absence of personal leadership or mentorship. Avoiding a person who can possibly help channel your strengths and diminish their weaknesses, is an invaluable commodity.
Simple Efforts
Millions never reach their full potential because they choose not to maintain their posture of discipline. While few people are realizing their dreams, many people have settled on their good efforts. In other words, they liquidate or reduce their God-given ability to simple efforts that only deal with frail attempts. Potential is that intrinsic ability one might have, but for some reason they have not come to realize their ability. I am convinced that most of us are content with just trying to live better instead of living better lives.
Forced Habits
To reach your full potential or to get close to fulfilling it, you must unlearn many of your forced habits. Your chief deterrent, inhibitor or a restraint is “effort.” Effort is simply a measured attempt to perform what one does not believe can be achieved. Potential is the full capacity of one’s ability to attain it.
Hit Me with Your Best Shot
Most people have been tutored and motivated to give their best effort in school, sports and other activities. However, many of us lack the encouragement that we are more than capable of consummating our goal or task. Therefore, our ability is not limited, but our knowledge is. Effort points to trying your best to do something, but never being able to reach your capacity. Humanly, we rest on the premise of efforts, only to secure the feeling that we gave it our best shot. Unfortunately, your best shot usually proves to be inadequate for the task. People who do not realize their potential will be satisfied with their efforts and promote their efforts over their potential. The people who usually acclaim they are never able to get over the hump, are the ones who are simply afraid to push themselves to experience what they can really do. In other words, the time, energy, and resources needed to push hard to realize or to reach their goals, is too much of a price to pay.
Predetermined Limitations
Your car is capable of going more than 120 miles per hour, but your learned restrictions of 55 miles per hour has caused you not to exceed speeds faster than 55. Consequently, fear attempts to set in when you exceed the speed limit to speeds of 90 and over. The reason for the dominance of fear is due to the restrictions taught. Efforts are learned limits, while potential is unlimited.
Never Settle
I fully believe potential can only be realized if God is placed in the equation. When you accept God’s divine image in your life, you will never settle for reaching a goal line you can simply crossover.
Leave a Reply