“You have a lot of potential, but need to make use of it, and apply yourself to be successful.” This is one thing I often keep telling my son as he was growing up. I am sure some of you can relate to this. He once asked me when he was very young, “Mom, what do you mean by it?”.
In order to explain to him in the terms that he could understand, I came up with this analogy. Imagine you have a candy jar that currently does not have any candy in it. It only has plastic chips. But let us imagine that you can take the chips out of the candy jar, take them to a candy shop and exchange these chips for candy. If you put that effort to do this, you will have candy to enjoy. If not, your chips remain as chips and you cannot enjoy the candy. Your potential is like this jar of plastic chips. You have to put in some effort to turn your potential into results and outcomes that you can be proud of.
So, how do you ensure you live up to your potential?
1. Experiment and broaden your perspectives: The first step is to understand what your potential is, ie., how big your candy jar is. The best way to do this would be to take some risks and experiment with different things. For example, take a music class, try painting, cooking or learn to program. Once you start experimenting, very quickly we will realize what things we have an aptitude and interest for. Until we try, we will never know if we have a great dancer or musician in the making.
2. Inspire yourself: Allow yourself to be inspired by other successful people. Read biographies and autobiographies. Listen to TED talks.
3. Give your 100% to anything you do. Most successful people share a trait. They are persistent. They do not give up until their goal is reached. Give your 100% or 150% to everything you do. You need to feel that you have given all you have and that there is nothing more you can do.
4. Look for ways to improve, even when your needs are met. When you think you can’t do anything more, do some more anyway.
5. Inspire Others: You cannot fully realize your potential until you do your part to help others. Donate your time and intellect. Share your thoughts and ideas with others.
I once heard someone say, when we are in our coffin, we should look beaten and exhausted, with bumps and bruises from various risks and beatings we have taken, but, satisfied that we did the very best we could in our lives and lived up to our potential.
Get a candy jar and put it on your table to remind yourself of the unrealized potential you may have and to do something about it. Always look for ways to exchange those chips for candy!
In order to explain to him in the terms that he could understand, I came up with this analogy. Imagine you have a candy jar that currently does not have any candy in it. It only has plastic chips. But let us imagine that you can take the chips out of the candy jar, take them to a candy shop and exchange these chips for candy. If you put that effort to do this, you will have candy to enjoy. If not, your chips remain as chips and you cannot enjoy the candy. Your potential is like this jar of plastic chips. You have to put in some effort to turn your potential into results and outcomes that you can be proud of.
So, how do you ensure you live up to your potential?
1. Experiment and broaden your perspectives: The first step is to understand what your potential is, ie., how big your candy jar is. The best way to do this would be to take some risks and experiment with different things. For example, take a music class, try painting, cooking or learn to program. Once you start experimenting, very quickly we will realize what things we have an aptitude and interest for. Until we try, we will never know if we have a great dancer or musician in the making.
2. Inspire yourself: Allow yourself to be inspired by other successful people. Read biographies and autobiographies. Listen to TED talks.
3. Give your 100% to anything you do. Most successful people share a trait. They are persistent. They do not give up until their goal is reached. Give your 100% or 150% to everything you do. You need to feel that you have given all you have and that there is nothing more you can do.
4. Look for ways to improve, even when your needs are met. When you think you can’t do anything more, do some more anyway.
5. Inspire Others: You cannot fully realize your potential until you do your part to help others. Donate your time and intellect. Share your thoughts and ideas with others.
I once heard someone say, when we are in our coffin, we should look beaten and exhausted, with bumps and bruises from various risks and beatings we have taken, but, satisfied that we did the very best we could in our lives and lived up to our potential.
Get a candy jar and put it on your table to remind yourself of the unrealized potential you may have and to do something about it. Always look for ways to exchange those chips for candy!
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