You can reach your full potential!

Have you ever been told you are no good? Has anyone told you that you will not make it even if you try? Has anyone made you feel unimportant? You may have experienced feelings of insignificance at one point or another in your life. People may have caused you these feelings directly or indirectly. But what should you do if you come across sources that give you negative thoughts or feelings about yourself?



The other day, I got up early for my annual physical check-up to avoid long queue. When I arrived, I saw that my colleague was already there. We were asked to go to the NON air-conditioned waiting area to wait for our names to be called. Then my other officemates came. We waited not for 10 minutes, not for 20 minutes, not even for 30 minutes, but for almost an hour just to be accommodated! Would that make any normal person feel special?

My officemates and I were required to fast for 10-12 hours for our blood test, which meant we had not eaten anything since midnight of the previous day. We could feel our stomach grumbling! We had to ask the nurses if they could already take our blood samples so that we would not over-fast. What annoyed us was that the nurses did not seem to know how to value the time of their clients. I was expecting to finish the process ahead of my two officemates who came later than me. But they finished before me! So much for the queuing system! I could go on blogging about the mishaps we experienced with our medical services provider but to get to my point, I’m shifting to another example.

When I was in Grade 3, there was this kid who seated beside me in class. Based on test results, he was brilliant in Math. I was not like him because I had mediocre grades, not only in math but in other subjects as well. But he was so confident that he challenged me. He told me “Whoever has the higher grade in the next exam wins!” So did I take up his challenge? Yes I did! Because he irritated me with his haughtiness! The result? Oh, I had a higher grade alright! In fact, I achieved the highest grade in the entire class! I topped not only the Math exam, but all the other subjects! Sweet success! That was the time I learned that if I could do better in Math, then I can do better or even my best in other things, too.

If you encounter people who keep on shoving you, who make you feel like a nobody, or act indifferently toward you, don’t self-destruct! Do not be eaten alive (like my little fish here, caught by my tiger Oscar)!


Instead of saying, “Why can’t I do this? Or why can’t I do that?” say, “How can I do this? Or how can I do that?” Instead of asking, “Why do bad things always happen to me? Ask yourself, “What is life trying to teach me now?” Instead of “Who am I?” say to yourself, “Who do I want to become?” Negative thoughts make you feel bad. Empowering thoughts make you feel good. Negative people ask questions that keep them down. Positive people asks questions that empower them. If you feel like you are not living up to your potential, one reason is because you are asking yourself disempowering questions. When empowering questions become a part of your habitual way of thinking, you become a powerful person. This will cause you to reach your full potential.

I’ll tell you next time what happens when you surround yourself with empowering people.