Strangely Charming

Potential. What is potential?

Most of us have relatively the same idea of what the term potential means. People say, “That kid has a lot of potential.” Or in a more negative context, “James just hasn’t live up to his potential, he frittering it all away on drugs and alcohol.” Potential is really more of a concept. In a simplistic way potential is merely a level of success that appears attainable for an individual – their capacity to reach certain knowledge, skill levels and perceived cultural successes. When someone says you have potential what they mean is that they perceive something in you, whether by intuition or by a glimmer of certain attributes you have demonstrated to them, that you are clearly capable of things beyond your current level – great things. Potential is a space inside yourself you haven’t filled but is available to fill.

What is interesting is that there are so many different perceptions of what one should do with this so-called “potential.” Unfortunately many of societies mainstream values and associated career streams become foisted upon an individual that seems to possess this potential or alternatively phrased,  latent abilities for “success.” Let me be more specific.

In the Indian culture parents are very pleased and proud if their son or daughter becomes a doctor (physician). They instill and nurture that idea in their children. When adulthood is reached, many Indian parents express their disappointment if their children did not become doctors. It is a culturally perceived and ingrained marker for success. In this instance a child’s “potential” to achieve something significant in life is ordained to the medical field. It is heavily filtered down this channel or career path without any consideration of the child’s own natural talents and abilities. It doesn’t allow for the child to explore their own self and discover who they are what they really want to become.

I have an Indian friend who has two doctoral degrees and has had many prestigious leadership positions and awards achieved throughout his academic tenure but his parents are still vocally disappointed that he did not become a doctor. This is so incredibly sad to me. He will never be able to please his parents in this regard and he will subsequently spend the rest of his life accruing accolades to prove to his parents that he is worthy of their love, admiration and respect. While it is tragic in my eyes, it is this sense of unworthiness, desire to please and general discontent that fuels many to do great things in the world…but it comes at a great cost… the cost of that individual’s happiness. Parents who do this have maimed their children and have caused a deep and significant part of them to emotionally hobble through life.

So what exactly is “fulfilling your potential?” It is merely a perception of those around us but there are paths in life that are generally perceived to be successful and warrant the designation of having fulfilled one’s potential. I find this system extremely harmful and retrograde to human progress. It may be of no consequence for some but overall it chokes and constrains many from pursuing and developing their own unique contributions to the world…especially the bright minded.

People who are talented and have worked hard to achieve a certain level of skill, knowledge and talent often times have the enormous social pressure to be something they don’t really want to become because that’s what society imposes on them. It is not only social pressure but a myriad of other spiritually and morally bankrupt factors such as money, prestige and power. Unfortunately many succumb to this abject authority.

Humanity is evolving and the freedom to live our own lives and to express our individuality without constraint is growing. It is ushering in a new era that can be intuitively felt and for me it is welcomed with much excitement. For those who are rigid and inflexible, they will not fare well within this newly emerging era but for the rest of us; hold onto your seats because we will begin to see a blossoming of the human potential.

So what should it actually mean to fulfill your potential? Fulfilling your potential is living a life that brings personal fulfillment. It is still becoming the best that you can be but it is doing so while being true to yourself, to who you are and to what you are passionate about. We should be living our own lives. That may sound selfish but in fact it is the opposite. When we live a life of our choosing, that is true to ourselves, we are blessed with a passion and thirst for life. It is that passion that expands our potentials even further. We become capable of things we didn’t think we were capable of. That passion radiates outward and touches the lives of all who come in contact with us. It’s quite simply contagious. That is why it is better to live a life of passion and meaning than a life of success yet emptiness. The impact of a passionate and happy individual goes far beyond his own fulfillment.

We should continually try to become the best that we can be for ourselves; live a life that capitalizes on our own unique qualities and areas of passion and then we need to find a way to give back to others. It may be a hard, tough road, but nothing of great value came any other way.

That is what it is to fulfill your potential.

“The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be.” – Oprah Winfrey