DEVELOPING POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESS

ONE of the world’s waste of energy is not necessarily fuel or electricity, rather the waste of unused potential within the lives of many people.

What would happen to our families, communities and nations if all of us would choose to maximise our God-given abilities and potential. It is usually said the average person uses only about 10 per cent of their potential.

If all of us decided to positively and effectively use our potential, the world would be better than it is today. To have potential is to be potent, endowed with energy adequate to produce results and efficacious. Potential is the ability and creativity resident in us in possibility form, not in actuality. It is that inherent capacity for coming into being. It is in fact the possibility of future success inherent in all of us.

When we all succeed, the world becomes a better place to live in. Success is that ability in us to make choices and commitments that will ultimately better humanity and society. It is making a positive impact on humanity that will last for eternity. Success is finding a need and then endeavouring to meet that need in society.

It is solving other people’s problems with our God-given abilities. Success means to sacrifice, so that others could benefit from our sacrifice. In order for one to be successful, and also make others successful, personal potential must be unearthed and maximised. The first thing we must do is to embark on a journey of discovering our potential. Each of us is special and endowed with gifts and talents. These gifts and talents should be discovered and sharpened. You will never know how high you can fly, until you move away from the nest of your comfort. Inside each one of us is great potential waiting to be cultivated, developed and put to use.

Potential

After discovering our potential, we must commit and surrender our lives to our creator. God created us for a purpose and only Him can help us become what He intended us to become.

Whatever God gives us in seed form, we must cultivate and develop for the betterment of society. We are actually responsible for developing our potential. To develop means to unfold gradually, as a flower from a bud. It also means to bring through a succession of processes or stages of growth. Farlex’s Dictionary describes to develop as ‘to free from that which unfolds or envelopes; to unfold, to lay open by degrees or in detail; to make visible or known; to produce or give forth’. We must develop our potential in order to promote its growth and visibility.

Each one of us is responsible for growing and perfecting the potential within us, from a less perfect to a higher and organised state, structure and function. Our potential must be worked to the point where it takes on form or shape. It is also imperative that we develop a healthy and positive self-image. How we see ourselves is key to our actions and reactions in life.

If we see and think of ourselves as little, we will produce less of our potential. A low or poor self-image will make us believe that we have nothing or little to offer to the world.

As a matter of fact, people who believe that they have little to offer to society, sit and contribute nothing. The development of our potential is directly linked to our self-image. Actually, the better our self-image becomes, the better and greater the development of our potential.

In developing our potential, we must be careful not to allow mistakes and failures discourage us. We must realise that mistakes and failures are not dead ends. They are life’s opportunities to start again. We must learn how to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks. Mistakes should not stop or discourage us, we must turn them into fuel for our next move. Potential is usually developed by trying over and over again.

Abilities

Potential is also developed by acquainting ourselves with others who have succeeded in developing their abilities, so that we can learn from them. Proverbs 27:17 declares; “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” It is wisdom to realise that, and in order to see further, you may need to stand on other people’s shoulders. We must learn how to make other successful people’s sight become our foresight. Proverbs 11:14 says; “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure.”

Discipline is also key in developing our potential for success in life. Discipline is the training of our spirit, soul, and body to produce character and self control. Gifts and talents are turned into powerful abilities through living a disciplined lifestyle. We must be committed to living a disciplined lifestyle if we want to see our potential grow. To arrive at a place of maximised potential for success, it will require a lot of disciplined commitment.

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