Each of us is created with infinite potential. Unlocking that potential in myself and encouraging others to do the same is why I pop out of bed each morning like a piece of toast. I’m grateful there is more work to be done every morning I open my eyes. Imagine how beautiful this world would be if we joyfully embraced the work of becoming the marvelous creations we were designed to be and helped others do the same.
Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, no magic pill, morning routine, or inspiring book can give you quick access to this infinite potential. We see glimpses of this endless potential as we chip away at the barriers preventing us from experiencing the freedom our Creator intended us to live with. Here are a few key ingredients to pursue and fulfill our infinite potential.
Belief
Belief is the prerequisite for actualizing potential. Belief systems can change instantly when we are presented with new information. For instance, if one of our earliest interactions with a dog is being attacked, we may experience pain and fear that causes us to deduce that dogs are dangerous and should be avoided. This fear response is triggered each time we see a dog. We can deepen those fear response neuropathways each time we cross paths with a dog as we relive our traumatic experience in our minds.
Imagine we meet a charming guy or gal and hit it off. Unfortunately, they have a dog they adore. Now we have a decision to make. To have this shot at love, we must override our self-preserving fear response to challenge our belief that dogs are dangerous and should be avoided. The good news is their dog is a friendly pup. After several positive encounters, we are emboldened to meet other dogs—our belief system shifts. We now believe all dogs can be dangerous, but most dogs are fun and friendly when properly introduced.
Outlining a behavior flowchart can help us understand the cause of our behaviors. Though our experiences and initial emotions are difficult to control, we can start influencing the flow if we commit to monitoring our thoughts. We may not be able to control the first thought that pops into our minds, but we can decide how that thought pattern develops. That’s how we begin to build our beliefs and shape behavior. We all have an internal dialogue, but we’re relinquishing our power if we’re only listening. As funny as it may sound, we can lead our internal dialogue with the stories we tell ourselves. Here’s the behavior flowchart:
→ Experience → Emotion → Thought → Belief → Behavior
Practically speaking, if we want to incorporate more physical movement into our days, we must believe that it will have some pay-off like improving our energy. Our belief that fitness will support our thriving energy leads us to behave in alignment with that belief through exercise. Our brain then releases endorphins (happy drugs) to reinforce the behavior deepening our belief that movement supports thriving energy. Here’s the flow:
→ Experience: Neurochemicals (Endorphins) Release During Workout
→ Emotion: Hopeful, Energetic, Happy
→ Thought: I feel better after exercising
→ Belief: Exercise creates physical and mental energy to build a thriving life
→ Behavior: I exercise and stretch every day.
Once we understand how our beliefs shape our behavior, we can develop an antifragile mindset to influence the emotions and thoughts that accompany our experiences, even negative ones, and give them meaning.
Antifragility
Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s theory of Antifragility changed the way I experience adversity. The premise is that some things are fragile, some are robust or resilient, and some are antifragile. Antifragile things benefit from adversity, uncertainty, and stress. They become stronger. We understand this concept in the gym. We lift heavy things to experience the benefits of improved bone density and stronger, larger muscles. We can apply this same concept to our mental fortitude. If we experience all adversity through the lens of an antifragile mindset, we are searching for growth lessons and improvement opportunities in everything from little inconveniences to traumatic events. Antifragile people will often experience post-traumatic growth after a life crisis or traumatic event. Antifragile people aren’t superhuman. They still have to pick up the pieces and regroup like the rest of us, but they come back stronger just a muscle after intense exercise and proper recovery. The time it takes them to recover is also notably shorter. We can believe that life is unfairly rigged to keep us miserably stuck OR we can trust that every experience, even painful ones, allows us to chip away at strongholds that block us from our infinite potential. One thought pattern breeds despair, and one brings hope and life.
The most difficult day I’ve experienced so far was losing my mom. I couldn’t see the “good” or purpose in my painful loss on that day. Looking back with more perspective, I see the chain reaction that loss created in my life. It was the impetus for my growth. My abrasive, harsh words transformed into a well of kindness, compassion, and grace. I developed stronger and healthier relationships through presence and empathy. Most importantly, I built an unshakeable intentionality for every day I’m here. It’s all on temporary loan from our Creator and when we remember that, gratitude and thanksgiving are our natural responses. Choosing an antifragile mindset will result in us learning to appreciate every season, even the ones that feel broken.
Perseverance
As we examine our belief systems and develop an antifragile mindset, we inevitably experience frustrating moments of perceived futility. Get angry. Cry it out. Call a friend. Shake your fist. Do what you have to do. Give yourself a few moments, a nap, or a snack. Then shake it off and KEEP GOING. This training is part of the plan. It develops the necessary character for your calling. It takes time. We can’t speed it up, or slow it down. It moves without permission or cajoling. As time passes, change is guaranteed, but progress is not.
Perseverance over time is the only way we can expect to unlock our infinite potential. This is where our character is built. Disciplines that are easy for me now, like morning Bible reading or closing my fitness rings, used to be difficult. Pizza and pushups are current weaknesses, but one day I know navigating those will be easier as well. This tension over time is how we build strength for future opportunities. Have you ever looked back after achieving something incredible and realized you would have never started if you knew all the difficulties in store? There’s a reason we can only see to the horizon. We may have a vision for the dream, but we rarely have a detailed understanding of the relentless pursuit required. Many of us would be beaten before we ever started if we knew what was in store. Keep pushing, keep going, keep persevering. The work we do now will unlock unimaginable potential. It’s a fallacy of humanity to overestimate what we can accomplish in a day and underestimate what we can accomplish in a year. Patient perseverance allows time to compound our small daily wins into momentum with life-changing potential.
Challenging Our Limiting Beliefs
What was your initial reaction when I first proposed you have infinite potential? Were you critically challenging the idea with reminders of past shortcomings? Were you curiously exploring it as a novel idea? Was it a confident acceptance of what you already knew to be true? Any of these reactions are welcome, even doubts. We can hold our doubts with open palms, free to be released at any time, so they don’t become an additional burden as we pursue our calling and fulfill our purpose. Examining beliefs, developing antifragility, and challenging perseverance lead us to push the bounds of our infinite potential.
We’ll never be perfect, but by making optimization a daily practice most of us will never truly find the limitations of our potential. We’ll discover that our potential is infinite when we have a healthy, balanced alignment to support us and a transcendent purpose to magnetically pull us forward. We’ll discuss these ideas in greater detail soon!
Faith Encouragement
Belief:
- Which beliefs do you need to examine to behave in alignment with your most optimized self? Would it be helpful to chart any behavior chains needing improvement?
- Steve Jobs: “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
- Gary Keller: “No one knows their ultimate ceiling for achievement so worrying about it is a waste of time.”
- Mark 9:23: “If you can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Antifragility:
- What is a painful event that has been a catalyst for growth? Can the next inconvenience, small or larger, be a prompt to practice gratitude for the challenges that build character?
- Steve Jobs: “Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”
- Romans 5:3-5: Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Perseverance:
- What are some difficult skills/practices that have become easier? Capture those wins as a reminder of how much you’ve grown for encouragement next time you wish you were further along.
- Steve Jobs: “Sometimes life is going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.”
- Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
