Maximize Potential

With this talk you will understand your unique predisposition given by birth. You are meant to strive, no matter what your potential is. This talk encourages everyone to accept that you have unique limitations. This is neither good nor bad, it is the truth. Also, you will learn to not hold back and discover the path most suited for you.

Transcript

So today we are looking at your potential.

The first thing we are trying to achieve is for you to become more aware of what your unique capacities actually are.

Also,

I will challenge you to see and accept your limitations so that you can trust yourself and focus your energy better.

Our last goal today is to also accept that by nature you are meant to strive and develop.

Striving is not an option.

It is a must if you want to live a healthy,

Happy and fulfilled life.

Winston Churchill said,

Continuous effort,

Not strength or intelligence,

Is the key to unlocking your potential.

Let's look at how you can go on the path of continuous effort.

Now let me start by making some assumptions.

I assume you are not as scientifically smart as Elon Musk.

But chances are just as likely that Elon Musk has less potential than you in another area.

Maybe Elon has a higher potential than you at designing rockets.

But maybe you have a higher potential at telling stories,

Being a race driver,

Cooking,

Designing clothes,

Teaching,

Meditation or farming.

I am certain that there is more than one area where your potential is higher than the potential of the most genius person on earth.

Of course comparisons can be unhealthy,

But in this case they help to make you understand that you have different potential in different areas.

Next,

As you know,

Potential is having the capacity to develop into something in the future.

Having low or high potential in certain areas is neither good nor bad.

It is something to discover,

Accept and embrace.

You will not know your potential until you try things out,

Try out new things and then understand and accept the outcome.

You are in Havald,

So by now you will have tried out a million things already in your life and you will have a good idea about a lot of your capacities.

But there are also still a million new capacities to discover that you are not aware of yet.

I would like to invite you to be curious,

Experiment and never assume.

Now let us actually talk a bit more about comparisons and how they do become unhealthy.

It starts with your time in school,

Where your potential has been measured and compared from a very young age.

I am most certain that you had a very specific idea of where you belonged in the hierarchy of potential in your different school subjects.

The combination of these hierarchies has put a blueprint in your brain for what your overall potential is supposed to be.

The only problem is that school subjects are very limited in regards to measuring human potential.

How school defines and judges potential is not only limited by subjects,

It is also very linear and simplistic.

This is why I would highly recommend you get rid of your ideas around your potential created during school times.

Observe,

Experiment and accept your current capacities as an adult and don't let anyone make assumptions,

Including yourself.

School has also done a million great things for you,

So no reason to build an overall aversion to school.

Important is that you become aware of how external factors like school made you develop a belief system around your potential.

This belief system,

Just like any other belief system,

Has to be challenged and updated constantly in order to develop and mature.

If you have a somewhat accurate understanding of your different potentials,

Then it is likely you are already very content.

If you have an imbalanced belief system,

Then chances are likely you think of your capacities as less or more than what they really are.

And both of these will cause you to make mistakes and both hold you back from growth.

This is why it is important to become aware of your potential before trying to maximize it.

The next point I want to make is that your capacities always change because of your age,

Life experiences and other developments.

Some capacities will go down,

Some will go up.

You will not become a professional tennis player at age 60,

But chances are you have more potential to sit on a company's board of directors at that age.

So accepting the constant change in your capacities is important because it keeps you realistic,

But also curious and motivated to keep developing.

Now let's look at the mindset of maximizing potential and how it can serve you.

Obviously,

Maximizing your potential can serve you because it gets you as close as possible to the best version you can be in a certain area.

It also constantly motivates you to develop further.

It makes you keep growing,

Keep searching,

Keep improving furthermore.

The mindset of maximizing potential is limitless.

You will never stop improving because nobody can actually really maximize anything.

Perfection does not exist.

So the strive to maximize is a constant,

Never-ending process.

This is important because your focus should never be on your goals,

But rather on your process.

You are meant to constantly develop and strive,

And not just hit landmarks.

So maximizing potential actually helps you to focus on the process.

Now the opposite of striving to maximize potential is standing still.

Stillness in your life makes you sluggish and depressed.

This often happens after you exhaust yourself and after you try to develop too fast.

So your approach to maximizing potential should be a marathon approach.

If you stand still,

You're getting nowhere.

If you sprint the first kilometer,

You will collapse soon after.

But if you keep developing at a natural pace,

You will find harmony and happiness.

So be aware that going too fast will make you angry and overcompetitive and will make you burn out.

Find your perfect pace.

We've already identified different types of potential and I would like to invite you now to think about your profession.

First of all,

I would like to invite you to think about whether your profession is in an area where you have a big amount of potential.

I'm not asking you where you're at in your career or what your job is.

What I am asking is if the work field you are in is a field where your potential is high or low.

This is important because it does not serve you to have a job in an area where your maximal potential is low and you experience your limitations constantly.

For example,

I'm not scientifically speaking stupid,

But if I were to try to work as a molecular biologist,

I would make myself unhappy.

My maximal potential in science is a lot lower than my potential in the areas I currently work in.

Consider working in an area where you have a lot of potential so that you give yourself a chance to grow,

Strive and succeed.

Now again,

I want to mention that maximizing potential is an attitude,

Not a goal.

You will never arrive at your maximum.

But a mindset of maximizing potential will bring you onto your correct path.

The reward is not to experience your maximum,

The reward is to live the unique life that makes you happy.

So think about how being on the path towards your maximum potential serves you.

Do not think about the maximum achievement,

Think about maximizing potential.

Become aware of the areas where your potential is high and then pick and choose the ones that interest you the most and work at a pace that serves you.

Now we have arrived at today's practical exercises.

First I would like to invite you to write down 10 areas of your life and then rate your capacity to develop in them.

Rate them from 1 to 10,

1 being the lowest,

10 being the highest.

The areas of potential can be anything,

For example becoming a professional athlete,

A great father or mother,

An engineer,

A good listener,

A writer,

A farmer,

A communicator,

A guide,

A teacher,

A healer,

A scientist,

A servant,

A leader,

A follower and so on.

The options are limitless.

Write down 10 areas that come to mind,

Even the ones that are far away from you.

Pause the course here and write down your observations.

Now choose 3 points from your list and write down how maximizing your potential in these specific areas would affect you and the closest people around you.

For example,

If I tried to maximize my potential to become a professional athlete,

It would for sure increase my athleticism,

But it would also drive my wife crazy and make me poor because I would waste my time and energy and neglect my current career.

On the other hand,

If I were to try and maximize my potential as a public speaker,

The effects could be very positive as I believe I have great potential there.

So again,

Pause the course here and come back to it when you have written the effects of trying to maximize 3 of your points.

Now in the next few days or during this week,

I would like you to choose an area and then consciously make one step each day towards maximizing your potential.

Can be big or small,

But you have to be conscious of the steps.

Can be saying hi to your neighbor because you want to maximize your potential for being a good neighbor.

Or it can be big,

Like telling your boss where you want to head in your career.

Anything is possible,

But make sure you're only focusing on the one step ahead per day.

Because only then can you move on to the next step after that,

And so on.

That's what being on the path means.

And now please make a calendar entry for when you will continue this course.

Can be in a couple of days or a week,

But please set a reminder now so that you will stay on your path.