Our Potential - My Twenty-eighth Entry

How many of us ask if what we are doing is worth the effort. This could be a question you ask at work? In a relationship? At the Gym? What about our relationship with God or your spiritual life?

I believe the question has to be considered in the context of what you want from your life and if you believe it is possible?

What you see as achievable and your willingness to commit to the work it will take is the first step. To succeed or of fail is the next part of a process that can lead to getting what you want.

To develop realistic expectations you must have a healthy balance between reasonable expectations, skills to attain your goals, a vision of your future life and an understanding of the price for this goal. Even success has a price. Succeeding can lead to dilemmas just like failure. What if you are a great actor, but don’t want to be well known?

Consider several additional issues:
Your personal expectations vs. what others expect from you
Your realistic potential vs. Wishful thinking

When the drunk and disabled prize fighter says “I could have been a contender,” he expresses his lost potential.

We all have potential, we have to find it. When I was a child I dreamed of playing professional baseball. I played nearly every day with my younger brother. Yet, I couldn’t even make the high school baseball team. If I had a better batting average and a great throwing, arm things may have been different. I wasn’t going to be a major league catcher, but I found other potentials.

I remember a teacher who said that when you make an argument in debate, you need to convince the judges that what you propose is workable, feasible and practical. I would add, is this attainable? What am I capable of doing?

Michelangelo and DiVinci didn’t begin their art careers as masters. They began as kids who found mentors who nurtured and cultivated their talents. Cultivate your talents and avoid letting life get in the way of success. Remember that failure isn’t final just a learning experience.

Today’s Truth: In Star Wars Episode V, Luke says to Yoda, “All right, I'll give it a try.” In response to this lack of commitment, Yoda says, “No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try. Living a successful life is about doing, not trying.”