Culture & Attitude
19.11.08
Things You Should Know About Potential
Chezz - 07 September 2008
What is it about the word potential that can make you feel excited one minute and then sad the next? In this article, Chezz looks at the power of potential and unpacks a few key thoughts that will help you unleash it upon your life.
My daughter Olivia is only eight years old, yet already she’s sure about what she wants to do with her life. She’s convinced that she’s going to be a teacher. Unfortunately for my son Max, this means endless hours of playing ‘schools’ and inevitably a good deal of time on the ‘time out’ chair! When Olivia shares her dream with me, it excites me because I know God has deposited so much potential inside each and every one of us – potential perhaps, to be the greatest teacher the world has ever seen! The truth is, that we can be all that God will allow us to be and I find that prospect quite exhilarating. Lets look at 7 things everyone should know about potential.
1/ POTENTIAL IS A SAD WORD.
Potential sounds such an exciting word – how can it be sad? The answer is found when we understand what the word potential actually means; having possibility, capable of being but not yet in existence.
I seem to remember the most commonly used phrase at my parent’s evenings when I was a pupil at school was “he has lots of potential and is capable of so much more”. What the teacher was trying to really say was ‘that I was lazy and needed to try harder! What we could be and what we become are worlds apart. How many times have we heard said that someone didn’t fulfil their potential? This is where potential in itself is a sad word – we’ve got to unpack it and develop it.
If potential is never realised and then developed, it remains a sad word.
2/ POTENTIAL STARTS AS A SEED.
Potential is in you long before someone notices it. I believe that God places potential within us before we were born. Everything that God is involved in has potential. The trouble with potential starting as a seed is that it’s so small and seems insignificant. Someone once said “You can count the seeds in an apple but you can’t count the apples in a seed.”
We should never underestimate the power of the seed of potential – who knows what can happen? Only God.
3/ POTENTIAL NEEDS A HOME.
Every seed needs a home. What is more important is that it finds the right home. I’m sure every father has been asked to plant the little orange pip his son discovered, in the garden, in the hope it will grow into an orange tree. Well, I have to be honest and say that I don’t have the faith for a miracle of that magnitude – not in the North East of England! That little orange seed needs to find a home, the right home. It requires a hot climate and a particular type of soil for it to take root and grow. The same is true with our potential. The best thing we could do is to find a good church. Then we need to be committed and put down some roots. In my experience, a good church, wise leaders and an empowering culture is a perfect home for the seed of potential to flourish.
4/ POTENTIAL REQUIRES A DREAM.
When your potential discovers a dream it’s like a chemical reaction. Obstacles seem small and manageable when you’re connected with your dream. It’s like finding the perfect partner, Mr Potential and Mrs Dream. Now that’s a recipe for success!
5/ POTENTIAL GROWS WHEN STRETCHED. Elastic potential energy is the energy stored in elastic materials as the result of their stretching or compressing. Elastic potential energy can be stored in rubber bands, bungee chords, trampolines, springs, an arrow drawn into a bow, etc. The amount of elastic potential energy stored in such a device is related to the amount of stretch of the device – the more stretch, the more stored energy. I think we can apply this to our potential. The more we stretch it, the more we grow.
If a spring is not stretched or compressed, then there is no elastic potential energy stored in it. The spring is said to be at its equilibrium position. The equilibrium position is the position that the spring naturally assumes when there is no force applied to it. The equilibrium position is a sad place for anyone’s potential to be at – keep stretching!
“Living at RISK is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down”
6/ POTENTIAL SUCCUMBS TO THE POWER OF A WORD.
Isn’t it funny that everyone else seems to know best about your potential. A word of warning – be careful who you choose to listen to. A dream can be crushed in a second if you listen to and receive a negative word. The Bible tells us that the power of life and death are in the tongue. I know that negative words about a persons potential can have catastrophic results and can stop that person dead in their tracks! Be wise and choose to be around people who speak words of faith and encouragement into your life.
“People can be the wind beneath our wings or the anchor beneath our boat”
7/ POTENTIAL FEEDS ON THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE.
Your attitude in life will feed or starve your potential. It is so important that you get the right kind of thinking when it comes to your future. You can have a ‘doom and gloom’ perspective or choose an ‘all things are possible’ perspective. What we know and what we think controls our lives. So my advice here is simple; get to know what God thinks about you and keep your thinking in line with the Bible.
Remember, you have potential inside you right now. Begin the process and don’t settle for a life just filled with potential, but a life unleashing your potential upon your world. Go for it!
Chezz is the Executive Pastor of Xcel Church. He and his wife, Louise, have four children Olivia, Max, Zak and Jackson.