Potential

This week my musing have been about potential, and realising our abilities. We all know the classic iceberg picture of what you see on top as supposed to the largeness of what lurks underneath the water. In the context of our potential the latter is often used as a picture of our untapped, unexplored potential. Mostly what I have been chewing over this weeks is the fact that psychologists say that most of us seldom use more than 15% of our potential. I think that is Mind-blowing!

If I consider myself included in the phrase ‘most people’, even if I am a little bit above or even below the average, then the untapped potential I am sitting on is quite a lot. What would it look like if we just used another 10% of our potential? I have struggled to even wrap my head around what 100% could look like… as I said: mind-blowing!

In the powerful words from one of my favourite films Coach Carter (and yes I know the words are from a poem and that it is well known to have been used by Nelson Mandela)

‘Our deepest fear is NOT that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people the permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.’

PS. If you haven’t seen the film Coach Carter, I strongly recommend you do. Based on a true story, which always is a big win in my books.