Life is hard, isn't it? It just seems like there is always something to challenge you, a setback, a disappointment, a frustration. Maybe you are having a mid-life crisis, or feeling burnout at work. It is so easy to get discouraged. It is so tempting to give up, to settle into a state of hopelessness, helplessness, or frustration.
Many people do give up. They live lives, as Thoreau said, of "quiet desperation." They spend their days at a boring job that doesn't pay enough, come home, have a beer or a glass wine, watch television until it is time for bed, and then get up the next day and do it all again. This is hopeless.
But if you were willing to settle for that, I doubt you would be reading this article. You are feeling called to something more. You are sensing there is more to you yet to be born. You are open to making some new choices, some new decisions, taking a few risks.
Why is that? Why would you want to risk? What is it that is calling to you? Maybe it is a dream, or a vision, or a desire that has been born in your heart to be more than who you are today.
The truth is there is only one you. In this world of seven billion people there is no one else quite like you, no one else with your particular gifts, no one else with your particular way of seeing and experiencing the world. Did you ever think about that?
If you should die without realizing your full potential there will never be another chance for the world to receive the gifts that you came here to give. No one else that can take your place. This is a huge responsibility for you to bear on your tiny shoulders, but there it is. There is only one you.
So what can you do to realize your full potential? Here are three suggestions:
1. Listen to the still small voice inside. Many people are too busy in "doing-ness"... to do lists, goals, appointments, volunteer activities, things that keep you going non-stop. It is easy to forget to take time to listen to the inner voice, that inner guidance, those little suggestions that pop into your mind from who-knows-where. But in listening, you may hear the voice of your destiny calling to you.
2. Pay attention to your heart-felt desires, to what you feel passion for. I believe your heart-felt desires are meant to guide you. They are there for a reason. They are a little bit like the yellow brick road was for Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. The yellow brick road took her for a real adventure: excitement, jeopardy, peril, and ultimately success! And along the way, she become wiser, more heart-centered, and courageous!
3. Take a risk. When you feel hopeless, or feel like a failure in life, it is because you are telling yourself that the past equals the future. But that is only true when you make the same choice tomorrow that you made today. Take a risk, make a new choice, and watch what happens! Your potential is right there, waiting for you to claim it.
