Every human being has abundant potential. Everybody is blessed with some unique talents, which if discovered and nurtured can lift the person and the world around him to a higher level. However, very few achieve their full potential. Forget full potential, most of us are perhaps operating at a tiny fraction of our full potential. This is perhaps one of the greatest challenges and opportunities we have as individuals, collectively as society and at some level the entire mankind.
Why is this? Why are we not operating at our full potential?
We are not operating at our full potential because it was not meant to be so easy. Life is a voyage of discovery. Nature expects us to progress from one level to another. At each level we discover something new and powerful about our self and the world around us. This moves us towards awareness of our true calling. However, progressing from one level to another is not easy. Our life situations condition us and exert a strong gravitational pull that does not allow us to break free. Laws of physics seem to apply here. Gravity keeps us rooted. To launch a rocket into orbit you need a turbo booster. Once the rocket moves into orbit, it can stay there with little additional energy. Similarly, we need a push, a trigger to lift ourselves from our current situation and move to a next level.
This sounds difficult. So, how do we progress on the journey to unlocking our potential?
I believe the key to unlocking our potential is to have a positive and sustained purpose, a cause to which we can dedicate our lives. It is the positive force that creates focus and commitment, and can inspire extraordinary effort. It is the magnet that can create means where none seem to exist and align the forces of nature in a mysterious yet powerful way. It is indeed the turbo booster that can lift us from one level to another and in process help us realize our full potential. History gives us abundant examples. Gandhiji was a simple man but he had a powerful purpose. This lifted him into becoming a Mahatma and in process shook the foundations of a mighty empire. Tulsidas was a village simpleton. Love of Rama helped him create the epic Ramcharitamans and made him a saint. Joan of Arc was a young and frail peasant girl. However, her convictions helped raise a beaten people to defeat a powerful enemy. She is revered till day as one of the patron saints of France. This clearly shows that there is incredible power even in the meekest amongst us. A powerful purpose can unlock the amazing energies within us not just to uplift us but the world around us.
So, how do we find a positive and sustained purpose?
Some might be fortunate to find a Guru who shows the path while some might go through dramatic events that make the purpose clear. For example, India’s freedom struggle or even the recent events in Tunisia and Egypt demonstrate the latter. These inspired scores to lift themselves and force system transformations that were not seen as possible. However, most of us might not be in either of the above situations and defining our purpose might need a conscious effort.
I believe to find our positive and sustained purpose we need to find the intersection of three forces – our passions, our unique talents and serving important and ethical needs. Passion creates interest and energy, unique talent creates alignment and excellence, while serving an important need creates lasting value. Any one of the above three could get us going but magic happens when we can find the sweet spot where all of them come together.
Finding this sweet spot is in itself a process of discovery. We have to seek it with calm and persistence. Sometimes we might uncover it suddenly and clearly. Most times, we have to approach it with a spirit of a patient karmayogi. As we do, we have experiences, and with each experience we move to a next level of clarity of purpose. Nature might test our patience and resolve, but if we seek persistently we shall uncover.
I have begun that journey of self-discovery. I feel I am in very early stages of it but feel very energized by it. I feel a sense of conviction that this is the right path to take. That personal conviction is inspiring me to share the above thoughts with you. I believe this is a deeply important topic and would welcome your thoughts on it.
