I came across a sentence the other day where it said that the idea of reaching one’s potential automatically means that there is a fixed upper limit to what you can achieve.
I strongly believe that a person can shape not only his life, his behaviour, or the way he skates, but can break through any limits that were thought to be limits, with time, effort, innovation, a constant re-interpreting of the situation and an even stronger will to see what’s on the other side of the next hill.
Looking at one’s potential necessarily means that we take in past markers, evaluate them with today’s markers and our current understanding of the value those markers have and project what the result might look like in the future.
We look at past results, interpret them with today’s information and knowledge and predict what the outcome should look like, but the only way we can achieve this is by looking at groups, making averages, and looking what the most probable outcome will be. And it works! Most of the time…
Now statistically, I should not have played professionally for 14 years. I should not have played in the NHL. I even quit playing hockey for half a season at 17 years old. Not big, not strong. I started getting taller (not bigger) at 16-17. Played my first major junior game at 19. If you look at these parameters anybody would have told me to look for alternatives (and a lot did). The odds and my potential were limited… But I was drafted by Toronto in my first year of junior as a 19 year old and my journey continued.
What stats and odds don’t account for is what can happen between now and the originally projected potential. And so much can happen. Any small change can make a huge difference.
We don’t know what the context we’re in will look like tomorrow. We don’t know what is going to influence us, internally or externally that makes us change. We don’t know what doors will open or which ones will close. We don’t know who we’ll meet that will inspire us, and who will make us stronger by trying to drag us down.
All we can do is decide if we want to keep exploring our own capacity just past this moment. Think about it. How can you know what’s on the other side of your potential? How can anybody know?
Push past this moment and past yourself. One step at a time. Shape your potential.