Know Your Iceberg
11th September 2021Stig looked at the dogs around him in training. His eyes were bright and inquisitive, displaying curiosity. Some were practicing walking in straight lines and some were learning how to stop at curbs. There were a couple of more advanced ones practicing looking for an empty seat. Their handlers were patiently, using praise, toys, and treats for positive reinforcement. They were the Guide Dogs for the Blind in training.
Stig watched, part mystified and part excited. ‘One day, I’m going to be like them!’ Though he was still a puppy, he could feel the potential in him and knew that he had more to give. Besides, the training looked so fun!
What do people see when they look at you? What do they feel when they think of you? What do they hear when they listen to you speak? More importantly, what do YOU see when you look in the mirror? What do YOU feel when you are thinking about yourself? In the quiet of the night, when you lay in your bed, how do you feel about your life?
Do you feel powerful? Do you feel like you have totally expended your potential? Do you feel you have more to give or do you feel completely spent? If you do feel spent, do you like the feeling that you have given your all and your world is a better place because of the value you have imparted into it? Or do you feel, possibly resentful that you are drained doing things you did not wish or have any desire to do?
Maybe you feel that there is more to you than the current you and the world are seeing. The results you are receiving and the life you are leading are just the tip of your iceberg. There is so much more to you. Sometimes, you can see and know that but you are not able to tap your potential. Sometimes, others see it more clearly than you. It could be possible that there is a mental or emotional block that prevents you from seeing clearly. Either way, know that your potential is far beyond what you can or are achieving now. It is not unusual that you do not know your full potential. No one does. That is why it is called potential, something you can’t see… yet.
Simply accept that it is there. Accept that you are not your thoughts, nor your failures, or even your successes. You are not your courage nor your fears. You are not your happiness nor your sadness. You are not your consistencies nor your inconsistencies. You are not your highest performance displayed or your worst attempt. You are not your children’s parents nor your parents’ child. YOU ARE MORE.
Do not hold your identity too tightly to your heart. Often, you are not able to become who you want to be because you are too attached to who you are. Many like to feel and think they know themselves very well as it gives them a feeling of comfort and security. If you achieving great results, it may serve to reinforce that who you are is good or enough. The problem is that this thinking is very limiting. You can still grow. We all can. You can grow to become MORE of who you are. You will still feel the comfort and security you are seeking except now you have grown and became more along the way.
There are some who are not achieving great results or feel like they have failed. They think they have no more to give. Know that there is no such thing as energy or experience wasted. Use those failures and experiences to allow you to live better. Use the energy derived or expended to spur you on. In life, sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. Do not waste the experience. Know you are more empowered by the experience than someone who has not been through what you have. You are now better equipped to live YOUR life, not others. You are MORE.
Do not mistake this for being dissatisfied and thinking that you should never rest and take a break. Rest is paramount to growth. Appreciation and gratitude for what you have and who you are are of utmost importance. Simply understand that you are more. It is entirely up to you whether you want to express your potential and see how deep and big your personal iceberg is. Twenty years from now, you are likely to have more regrets about the things you did not do rather than the things that you did.
So if you are tired and exhausted thinking you are spent, take your time to regroup, recharge and revitalise your mind, heart, body, and spirit. Know that you are empowered with more experience and your potential is vast beyond your comprehension. You are MORE.
If you are achieving great results and leading a great life, push your potential to lead a better life. You are not at your peak yet! Do not think you have reached it! There are always aspects of your life, be it physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual, that can be improved, using more of you. You are MORE.
Here are some tips to help you develop your potential.
- Start with WHY. Find your purpose of living. If you can’t find it, create it! Make it BIG, bigger than you can imagine. It should be something that is out of your reach at the moment. It should be beyond your current capabilities. So to fulfill it, you have no choice but to dig deeper into your potential.
- Include others in your WHY. We tend to do more for others than we do for ourselves. The likelihood of you tapping into your potential is greater when the gain is for others, not just purely yourself.
- Seek mentors or accountability partners. Either learn from someone who you respect and want to emulate or have someone to keep you accountable for doing the things you said you would do.
Pushing yourself can be hard. However, consider the alternative. Imagine on your deathbed, all the ghosts of your unfulfilled potential will be gathered around you. They will say, “We were given to you from the start. Why did you not bring us to life and instead, now we will have to die with you?”
Remember that the potential in you is immense. Your world needs you to express that potential. Don’t save it for a rainy day, trust that when you think you have spent it all, there is more. Because you are MORE, so much more…
Stig knows his potential and can’t wait to express it to help his future blind guardian. Who will benefit from your potential?
‘Unfulfilled potential turns into pain.’
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