Your Potential

April 21, 2011

One of the first things that I talk about with a new student or new group is the idea of potential.  There is potential for greatness in all of us whether our field is sports, art, music, dance, computer programming, etc.  We all want to reach our potential and deep down in our thoughts, we know that potential is there inside of us and it’s just waiting to come out.  Oftentimes we see it in others as well especially in coaching situations.  But sometimes that potential has trouble bubbling up to the surface.  Why is that?

In his Foundations of Positive Psychology course, Tal Ben-Shahar uses Michaelangelo’s David as a metaphor for that potential of greatness within all of us.  When Michaelangelo was asked how he created such a beautiful sculpture as his David, he said the following:

“In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.”

In other words, Michaelangelo was able to look at a block of marble and see the potential for beauty within it.  His job was to chip away at the excess stone to reveal that beauty to the rest of the world.  The metaphor is that we are all blocks of marble with a David within us, and there is excess stone that is blocking our potential from being revealed and realized.  But what is that excess stone and how can we chip away at it?  According to Ben-Shahar, the excess stone that is covering our David is an internal system of self limiting beliefs.  These self limiting beliefs may be about our own abilities in a particular field or about the world in general.  They may even be general societal beliefs that have been imposed on us and are considered to be conventional wisdom, but in reality, many of these beliefs stifle our growth and potential.

So what’s an example of a self limiting belief?  The simplest example is in how we use the word “can’t”.  Do you ever use the word can’t in regards to your practice or performance?  I can’t hit a kick serve or I can’t beat him or her might be how you’ve limited yourself with this dangerous little word in the past.  And it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  If you believe that you can’t beat someone, you are inevitably correct.  All of your thoughts are focused on what you can’t do rather than what you can do.  It is what you can do that leads to taking positive steps to the unlocking of your potential, but that path isn’t easy.

Focusing on what you can do will lead to work to do in practice, in the gym, in the classroom, etc., all in the effort of revealing your inner David.  It will be hard work.  By eliminating the word can’t from your vocabulary, you are eliminating an excuse to not do the work required to be the best player and athlete that you can be.  Instead of thinking that you can’t do something, rephrase the statement in a way that gives you something to do.  I can’t hit a kick serve could become I need to learn the kick serve to be a better player and I will do it.  This statement empowers you to think of actions to take to make it come true.  If you begin to think in this manner, you’ll start to see improvements in your game and you’ll take pride in the fact that you are taking action.

So what are some other self limiting beliefs that may be blocking your potential?