What's your potential?

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So we all have the potential to do good and great things in life. Or at least I hope that's the case. I sincerely hate when I ask an adult where they picture themselves within the next 5 years and they look at me dumbfounded as if I'm speaking another language. It's honestly not that hard people. If you can look back over the last 5 years of your life, you should hopefully be able to gauge or set goals for the next 5 years of your life. It's further depressing to find that our young people of today also don't have a vision. They don't know where they want to be next week nonetheless next year. Smh.

People often ask me what I attribute to my ability to focus and not only set goals but to achieve them. Honestly, I give all credit and glory to God because I clearly know that without Him or without a strong relationship with Him, I am nothing. He has given me the type of parents that helped me to achieve my goals and set rules around my goals. I grew up in a semi-strict environment where nothing came before school and church. I dreaded it at moments back then, but now I thank God that I had such structure. Aside from that, I've always been one to not only set a goal but to write it down. It can be a relationship goal, a career goal, a work out goal or whatever. Whether it's on a post-it note or in a notebook, I jot down my thoughts at the moment and date them. The great thing about this is that I often forget where I put the paper that I wrote this on and somehow find it years later. It's an awesome feeling when you can look back and say "Oh my gosh, I really accomplished that goal." Besides the self satisfaction in that, it's relieving to know that you have conquered one thing and can move on.


So how do you know where you want to be in life? I think if one takes a deep look within themselves and even at the people around them one can make life long decisions. I think most people can safely decide that they don't want to be poor or living from pay check to pay check. But how do you plan to achieve that goal? Interestingly enough, there are plenty of personality tests and career aptitude tests out there to give you an idea of professions that may be your strengths and weaknesses. I took a series of these my senior year in high school in a mentorship class. Oddly, all of the tests I took pointed to the career of optometry in which my mind had already been set on since I was a child. This kind of confirmed for me that I may be choosing the right career path.

Sometimes we all have to do a little soul searching and reclaim our own potential. If you are at a plateau in your life, you should really do some reevaluating and take some steps towards getting from point "A" to point "B". Here are just a few pointers that I think may be helpful in achieving goals.

1. Realize what's important and what's not by recognizing your self worth. Stop placing time and energy on things that aren't worth it. Your goals or career objective may need to take up more of your time than a hobby, a social life or even a relationship that isn't going anywhere. 

2. Assess the people around you. If no one is going anywhere fast then perhaps you need to get a new set of friends and a new support system. You can't build a house that you expect to stand with a poor foundation. 


3. Don't knock it until you try it. I always hear people say that they aren't the "school type". These same people haven't been in a classroom since 1999 when they were in high school. College is completely different from grammar school. I'm not saying to completely waste your money if you don't want to do it, but give a class or two a try before you completely rule it out. You just might find that you will like it.

4. Seek new avenues towards your goals. It's kind of like driving. The interstate usually appears to be the most straight-forward route and the one most GPS systems will offer first, but if there's traffic, you may need to recalculate your route. A lot of the times you will find that your scenic route is a lot better and sometimes quicker. 


5. Realize what's attainable and what's not. I'm not saying to be closed minded or to only think on a small scale, but realize what's realistic and what's not. Stop trying to become a singer when you KNOW you can't sing. Stop trying to become a nurse when you hate even helping an old lady walking down the hall.  Stop trying to be a pro athlete when you are 30 years old with a torn ACL. Stop trying to preach when you know you weren't "chosen" (That's another topic for another day. Lol.).


6. Find your purpose in life. Sometimes this can be a lifelong journey, but once you have an idea of your purpose, it makes setting and achieving goals easier and more worthwhile. You can start by finding God and gaining a better connection with Him.

7. Network! Find people with similar goals or who are where you want to be. This will benefit you in tough times when you need meaningful advice or even when you need resources in the future. 

8. Don't limit yourself. The sky is the limit to what you can have. Don't settle for being a nurse's aid when you know you are capable of being a RN. Don't settle for being a dental hygienist when you know you want to be a dentist. A lot of people limit themselves with age. The best piece of advice I've been given was by my old pediatrician. She said, "The time will pass anyway. You should rather it pass as you work towards doing something you love rather than something you hate." This woman have 3 kids and a husband while working towards her degree. I always thought that was the impossible, but she's living proof that it's not.

9. Remain positive. Somehow, some way, life has been constructed to where it's so easy to be negative. There's negativity on every block, at every red light, on every TV station, and even from many faces you encounter on a daily basis. Be the one positive person in your life, and gain the confidence it takes to make things happen. 

10. Prayer and meditation changes things. I just wouldn't be a Christian if I felt otherwise. It's very hard for me to approach any situation, nonetheless a life changing one, without meditating and talking it over with God first. It's important to start a new phase of life with a clean heart, a renewed spirit and the spiritual motivation you need to achieve your goal.


Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision the people will perish..." It's 2011, it's time for positive thinking, positive energy and positive lifestyle changes. Let's go people!