Now, Face The Music

Discover your potential

2008-10-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

People could achieve great things in the world, but choose not to for one reason or another. We fail to reach our full potential, not due to lack of intellectual aptitude or ability, but for other reasons. Perhaps we do not recognize the power they lays dormant within us. Maybe we do, but are unwilling to make the sacrifice it takes to fully develop our innate skills and talents. Some of us are even afraid to challenge the norm.

If you are nervous about taking the chance to develop your talents because you think people will not support you in your endeavor, you are probably right. But, you must remember that there will always be people who will brush your talents aside and think you will not amount to anything. Do not allow these people to dictate what you do with your life because the naysayers do not know what the future holds for you. Instead, focus your time learning about who you are and what makes you unique.

Someone is waiting for you to develop your potential so that he or she can be inspired to do the same. Don’t deprive them of it.

Don’t Let Your Regrets Hold You Back

2008-10-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

When we identify the things that hold us back and start to move past them, we realize that we have a hand in choosing our attitudes about our circumstances and our lives. We are empowered to push through the challenges because we know that victory lies ahead.

But what if this process of discovery is not as easy as I have described? What if in our quest to discover what holds us back, we unearth a regrettable moment in our past? What if the regret was so strong that we buried it deep inside our subconscious, so it never again sees the light of day? Do we try to shove it back into our subconscious? Or do we finally allow that memory to teach us something?

The subject of today’s post is regret. Merriam-Webster defines regret as ‘sorrow aroused by circumstances beyond one’s control to repair.’ The key words being, ‘beyond one’s control to repair.’ Most of us cry over the proverbial spilled milk when we experience feelings of regret, almost as though if we shed enough tears we could somehow go back in time and make a different choice.

If we could, some would go back to make different choices, but this wouldn’t be practical, because it would take away from who we are. We are a collection of our experiences. Our experiences and our unique characteristics make us who we are. So if we go back to erase wrong choices that we have made, we are erasing a part that makes us unique and we deny ourselves the opportunity to learn from life.

Remember that when you are faced with certain decisions and you take one choice over the other, you are making a decision based on where you are emotionally, physically and psychologically in your life. I am not saying that every wrong choice is okay. What I am saying is that even if we made the wrong choice, we still get an opportunity to learn from it and advise someone else not to make that choice.

Can we still have a successful future if we have made wrong choices? Of course…people do it everyday. It is called ‘forgetting what’s behind and moving ahead…towards the goal.’ When we are faced with feelings of regret, we must make the choice to move forward despite what our feelings may want us to do.

So, back to the question posed at the beginning of this post. Do we try to shove our regrets back into our subconscious? Or do we finally allow that memory to teach us something?

I would certainly vote for the latter. When we realize we have made wrong choices and feel regrets, it is best to just allow ourselves to briefly experience them, pull the lessons that we are supposed to learn and then give these feelings a proper burial.

We must not hold on to them regret because they will prevent us from experiencing the amazing gift of life.

Live Courageously Each Day

2008-10-08T04:06:00.000-07:00

What does it mean to live courageously each day? I guarantee that you will get a different definition of this with each person you ask. For some, it may be waking up each morning and pressing on in spite of all the tragedy that has occurred in their lives. For others it may be choosing to get up despite of all of their failures. Some also courageously choose to do something each day to move them closer to their dream. There is no limit to what people define as courageous living.

We have all heard incredible stories of ordinary people choosing to live courageously regardless of their circumstances, and making it through life. What these people have in common is that they did not allow fear to paralyze them. Fear can be a very crippling emotion. We all experience fear, but some allow their fears to hold them back while others choose to press on despite these feelings.

Fear isn’t all bad. It sometimes alerts us to physical danger, and prompts us to protect ourselves. This isn’t the fear that I am talking about. The fear I am talking about is the one that prevents us from doing things because we are afraid of the outcome.

When we allow fear to take hold of our lives, it stunts our potential. There are countless people who reach the end of their life and wish they could go back to make some changes. They have feelings of regret because there was something they wished they had done, but never gathered the courage to do it because they were afraid of the outcome.

To me, living courageously each day means taking a look at my fears and my insecurities and taking little steps to counter them. I have made the choice to look at my circumstances and challenges, not through the lens of my fears, but by relying on the truth of my life and choosing to allow that truth to change my world for that day.

Spend about half an hour alone, in a quiet place and try to think about all your fears and insecurities. You may or may not list all of these in the half hour period, but it is a good start. Think about whether these fears are preventing you from living courageously each day. Now, write down one or two things that you could do each day to counter this fear. For instance if it is the fear of public speaking, commit yourself to saying one thing in class or during a meeting. Then slowly increase the number of times you speak with each opportunity.