The Mentor | #43 | Potential
Each month, I share 3 things I've read on skills, careers, and personal development.
The potential for greatness lives within each of us. -Wilma Rudolph
John Wooden, legendary UCLA basketball coach, said that his goal each year was for every player to reach their potential. The goal was not winning games, the goal was not scoring a certain number of points, or otherwise. It was simply about every individual reaching their own potential.
He said this knowing that each person had different types and level of potential. But, he knew that if each individual maximized their output, the team would be better.
We live in a world of comparison:
-Am I better than her?
-Did he perform better than me?
-How do I achieve what that person achieved?
When you shift to think about potential, instead of comparison, it’s liberating. It also gives you the capacity to focus on what is actually possible: achieving your own potential.
As we wrap up 2023 and start to think about the New Year, I’d suggest you think in terms of potential vs. comparison. It likely leads to a different set of goals, a different set of milestones, and therefore, a different set of outcomes, which are unique to you: your potential.
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If you are in the mood for Holiday songs, here are two:
1
Anytime you make a change, your life will get worse first. The moment you accept that, you are on the path to achieving your potential. Do hard things, do your thing, do it for decades, write your story first…
2
Understand your full capability, then understand your current delivery. The difference is ‘the capability gap’. If you understand this, you can close the gap.
3
The biggest force preventing you from your potential is your own mind; your self-doubt. Here is a way to overcome that.
Well said!