Do you really understand the word POTENTIAL?

Do you know your full potential?
Have a good understanding of the word potential?

I read this article a few weeks ago which had a profound effect on me, today it was put to use.
It asked, when you encourage someone to use their potential...you explain to them what their potential really is. We adults have a lesson to learn from this.

My oldest son has struggled with the start of 6th grade.
Over the last week we've searched for a better understanding of areas in which he struggles.
Then it hit me, I need to use the word potential.

People, in general, no matter their age respond to encouragement. Many dreams would have faded away, never pursued, if they weren't realized and encouraged.

Encouragement knocks on the door of potential.
But do you really understand your full potential?

For my oldest, we broke it down into 4 simple steps.
We asked him to be a better him, therefore using his potential to reach a higher success at being a student, making the grades expected of him.

Simply telling a child to use their potential is as useless as telling a tree.
Children need their parents guidance in understanding their entire capabilities.

Us adults need it too.
As we helped Lance understand these steps, ie: changing his attitude, focusing, fidgeting less, balancing play with studies, and exercising to release stress and energy, he began to feel real confidence in his ability to be a better him. His potential.

All that time digging into the issues that prevent him from using those simple 4 steps made me think about how many of us don't realize and therefore, aren't using our own potential.

We may seek to be better parents.
So whats distracting us from achieving that?
Is it the dishes or a mess of dirty clothes? A self-imposed deadline? Do those tasks really matter if we weigh it agaisnt the time we could be spending with our children to strengthen our bonds? Making us better parents?! I've always believed the answer to better parenting is held within our own children.

We may seek to more disciplined in our diets and exercise.
What would help us stay strong in those areas?
Maybe, first shopping the perimeter of the store, filling our cart with healthy choices like produce, veggies, fruit and dairy then, when virtually all space is filled, we allow ourselves a few shelf items.
Maybe it's clocking out an hour early from work once a week to hit the gym, or getting up early twice a week to workout in the living room before the house lights up and the day really starts. Or more simply, breaking a 30 minute sweat into incrments of 3. Situps during commercial breaks, squats while the children play, tricep dips off the kitchen chair before cooking dinner.

Are we scared to leave our comfort zone
and venture into the real time of what excites us deep down?
This is a tough one for me. One that I battle. Many a secret thrill wrapped up in this beauty.
I find surrounding myself with positivity helps me keep the confidence to seek new adventures. Anything from, engaging with FRG to promoting new ideas at work, to wearing fashions that seem more trendy than 30'something year old mommy, to running races at distances, I thought I'd never finish.

Whether we dream a little or dream alot. It takes the courage of realizing and applying our potential to reach those dreams and live them.

Tonight I helped my oldest dig inside to find his potential. We outlined them. We discussed the distractions he faces, keeping him from his hidden potential. We noted how life would change if he eliminated those and just relied on the potential he had locked away.

And now, I sit with pride and reassurance that we can make it through 6th grade and all the years that follow. Seems so simple, and I wonder why I haven't dug into this fact before. It's nothing for Lucas or I to push our toddler into his realms of potential but as we grow older and life hands us its stresses, I guess it's easy to forget the keys, locking the box of potential.

*Lucas and I found this box while on a hike at Crabtree Falls. Curiosity got the best of us. What we found inside still touches my heart. A book of notes written by hikers over the years, safely kept in a ziploc, the originator wished us well and asked a handwritten wish be left behind, for those who follow.

Do you live at a fraction of your full potential?
Ever broken it down to your children in hopes they would grow in a new direction?

This week I've linked up with Tell Me about it Tuesday