Realizing
one's full potential must be preceded by clearly identifying one's full
potential. I have been thinking about this lately because I believe it is incumbent upon my role as a manager and leader to help my staff achieve at their fullest capacity, and to that, we first have to cleave through the quagmire of good and bad external
inputs that have been accumulated over the years. This endeavor undoubtedly
includes a thorough evaluation one's personal values and guiding
principles, since they are so foundational to our daily behaviors. This introspection would
reveal in anyone, that at least some of our values and guiding principles are
not truly of our own design nor choosing, rather, they have merely been imprinted
upon us through various life experiences.
I bring
this up, as it is not unusual to have accumulated some idea of our potential,
or more likely, the limitations of our potential, through our life experiences,
including opinions or even projections laid upon us over the years, at least
some of which may have been consciously or even unconsciously accepted, and
then subsequently re-enforced as personal limitations. I assure you, that none of these limitations
are real, though some aspects of our potential may be less easily realized than
others.
So, to
realize our true potential, we must first remove the self-imposed, or at least
accepted, limitations we have picked up over time and have since continued to
apply and re-enforce. Re-enforced you
say? Yes, haven't you ever heard someone
say, "Oh, I could never do that!", well, it just isn't true! Yet we accept these notions of our
limitations, and then, unwittingly re-enforce them without even questioning
them.
Having
questioned and removed these limitations, thereby discovering a new and greater
potential to realize for ourselves, we must then embark on the second
challenge, which is how go about achieving self-actualization. By far, the
greatest barrier to self actualization is overcoming our own fears, expressed
most commonly by finding it impossible to even begin. It is so ironic, that the reality is in plain
view, like the nose on our face, and just as we have lived within falsely
imposed limitations regarding our potential, we live within the notion that the
realization of our potential is inaccessible to us. The truth is that all we have to do is begin! Like
walking across a balance beam, we must begin, and even if we falter, or even
fall, there is nothing more required than to get back up and continue, and
before you know it, you are at the other end.
I often
tell people, when discussing this sort of challenge, that, "I don't know
how to do my job; rather, I know how to do things I don't know how to
do". What is meant by this is that
I do not undertake my role in a formulaic manner, like following the recipe for
a cake, as everyday bring new challenges, and requires adaptations, both small
and large, to do the job well.
The
realization of each of our potential is so close and accessible, yet it can
seem virtually impossible. I think of
people that I have offered to help in learning to play the guitar, and how they
are commonly discouraged after the first half an hour. Guess what; everyone, I mean everyone, is a
complete clod in the beginning. However,
with just a little more perseverance, such as practicing three chords, twenty
times each, each evening for a week, huge progress will be discovered. Likewise, the realization of each of our full
potential begins with one step, and then another, supported by the courage and
belief that you can and will ultimately achieve your objective.
I know
this about myself, and I have no less confidence in each and every one of
you. I invite and encourage you to tear
away those falsely applied limitations and to begin anew, to truly realize your
full potential. Seek the support and
partnership from those around to fortify your courage and commitment, calling
upon your friends, family, coworkers and myself. Stick your neck out, be
adventurous, explore beyond those artificial horizons you have lived within so
far, and revel in the discovery of just how amazingly capable each of your
really are!
No comments:
Post a Comment