What We Really Mean When We Talk About ‘Potential’

‘Potential’ is a powerful word — it gives us hope or dashes it, depending on how it’s used. It’s something we’re always trying to live up to, yet something we hope we never fully reach. After all, how sad is it to think that you’ve reached your full potential, and there’s no chance for improvement or growth beyond where you are?

Sounds like death to me.

That’s why I loved Erwin McManus’s description of potential, and the journey we take in pursuit of fulfilling ours, in his book, The Artisan Soul:

“Potential is talent that has not been harnessed; it is what talent looks like when it is undisciplined. … Talent, when fully developed, becomes a strength.”

In his interpretation, reaching your potential doesn’t mean you’ve peaked; it means you’re firing on all cylinders. It’s acknowledging that intersection between what you’re passionate about and what comes easy to you, and putting in the work to hone and sharpen that area until it becomes an asset. As your strength increases, new opportunities to flex it will arise — and so will new challenges to test you. Potential simply means growing your strengths into uncharted territories, and seeing how far you can stretch yourself to live at your best. That’s why I believe our potential is limitless; it’s ever-expanding to the lifestyle we lead. (And, conversely, contracting, if you ignore those skills and let them atrophy.)

So, all that said (er, typed), charge into this day knowing that your potential knows no boundaries. As rah-rah and cheesy as that sounds, sometimes you just need a perspective change to remind you that you’ve got this. Whatever this day, week or month brings you, you have the potential to CRUSH IT.

 

This post is part of Life Between Weekends’ Tuesday Takeaway series. Every Tuesday, we’ll share the most compelling insight we’ve gleaned from a book, movie, tour, documentary or article to inspire you during the workday. 

Photos: Candace Braun Davison