I know you have been feeling this lately…this emotion that makes you think you haven’t measured up. This worry, this fear of all that you could be. It freezes you in terror making you feel like you are unworthy. Slowly breaking your heart as you let pieces of yourself fall away. Until one day you look into the mirror and wonder when you stopped reaching. Why you fear your potential? When you stopped striving for your dreams. What is it that made you stop and feel like you were not meant for more?
It’s so easy to let the whispers of the world enter into our lives. Slowly allowing them more and more power over us. Shaping our perceptions, thoughts, and emotions. Leaving us not as our Heavenly Father meant for us to be, but as a woman weighed down by the expectations and judgment of the world.
What are these worldly whispers saying?
Have you heard the statement that “Money is the route of all evil”? I remember hearing it often as a little girl and it stuck with me and it shaped my relationship with money. How it was viewed, earned, spent, saved. When your perception is that money creates evil in you, you do all that you can to not succeed. You stop reaching for more. You fear who you will become if you had money.
Maybe you saw money as evil when someone who perceived as “rich” made choices that were wrong. Or you saw someone with nothing do evil in order to have riches. Maybe, you didn’t see these things at all, but you heard about them. Time and time again this belief was reinforced into your belief system…until you decided that your success would equate to you being wicked yourself causing you to stop trying.
What about the saying, “Life is hard. It always has been and it always will be.” You are not meant for more than the struggle. The daily grind. Enduring instead of thriving. Existing instead of living. Is that really all this life is for?
My father is a farmer. If you have ever known a man or woman whose chosen profession is farming then you know just how incredibly difficult it can be. From prepping the ground, planting, watering, nurturing, harvesting, and more…day in and day out…sun up to sundown. There is no rest. And in the end, sometimes that labor results in a lost crop to flooding, infestations of bugs or weeds, drought…and there it is. The struggle. No reward. Enduring.
We see people chase the “it” life all the time. We see debt consume them, marriages fail from neglect, and we watch as the daily grind slowly kills their spirit. When the struggle defines them and the dreams are left to shatter where they fall. As those we love struggle, we see that in ourselves, doubting our ability to thrive. Holding onto the thought that we must just endure until the end. And only then the hard will end. So, why try? Why strive for more than existing?
Then there is this part of you that we will call your Ego. It’s fragile and trades in emotions such as jealousy, inadequacy, and unworthiness. Leading those thoughts you have where you compare ourselves to others. Embracing the judgments and perceptions that we allow to whisper to us.
The world has set parameters on who is deemed as amazing. Those we should look up to. The world whispers that hose who are influencers, celebrities, professional sports players, etc. are who you should strive to emulate. People who live in big houses, drive nice cars, have all the right brands, and wear the latest fashions. In your comparison, all the doubt creeps up. Thoughts such as, “How would I ever achieve such a thing?” or “I am am not worthy of more.” play on repeat in your mind until they too become beliefs that guide your every choice in this life.
Sometimes though, our biggest fear is other people’s judgment. Their views on what you are or are not capable of. Their belief that you will never amount to anything. That you will never become who they believe you should be. Creating this fear of stepping out of your comfort zone. Creating this fear of your potential. These whispers hold the strongest influence. They come from those around you, maybe even those you live with, love. They inflict maximum damage every time you hear them and they create the strongest limiting beliefs because of the power you allow them to have. These beliefs stop you cold. Keep you frozen. They keep you in fear.
What about our own perceptions?
We have been taught time and time again that pride cometh before the fall. That success creates pride in oneself. So, why would you want to reach your potential if it will only lead to your fall?
But will you fall? Or will you ascend? And if you soar will your core self change? How will your relationships be affected? What type of impact will reaching your potential have on your lifestyle?
What if you changed the narrative here. What if you thought about how reaching your potential is not for yourself, but in service to you Heavenly Father? What is he asking you to achieve? How will it help him build his kingdom? In what ways will your potential serve him? He is your father. Your creator and your guide. He is also the one who endowed you with the amazing potential that you have. So, ask yourself, if God gave you your potential is there reason to fear?
Another block that can hold you back from reaching your potential is your ideas of what success means. What does success look like to you? Does success look like a big scary accomplishment or is it a natural progression for you? If you can look at success from a slow-growth perception would it feel as scary or overwhelming?
Thoughts like, “I can do the next best thing.” help to move you into a growth pattern where you can move yourself into your potential intentionally, with guidance, and by one small step at a time until you have achieved what you were aiming for.
But how do you know if you are resisting, if you fear your potential?
One way that you can recognize resistance in yourself is to evaluate what emotions are driving your actions. Worry, confusion, stress, and of course, fear can all have an impact on your actions. For example, if fear is driving your actions you will actively make the choice to take the actions that will move you farther away from your potential. You will choose to remain in your comfort zone, in safety. You will not choose the action that has risk, a chance for change, or growth.
When fear is your driver your subconscious brain goes into “drama” mode. Your drama brain, as I call it, goes immediately to the worse case scenario. To keep you safe it will resist. You will find yourself falling into patterns of self-sabotage. Such as using distractions to keep you from focusing on reaching your potential.
And what if you embraced your potential?
Our potential is for our growth. We are here to learn, achieve, flourish, and become who God has created us to be. There is not a single one of us who is meant to stay stagnant.
In order for us to be able to embrace our growth, God gave us our talents. These talents will help you reach your God-given potential. That means you have them for a reason. Discover them. Develop them. Understand them, but most importantly, use them. What is it that God gave you these talents for?
He wants you to achieve your divine potential as his daughter, whatever that may be.
He is there supporting you, watching you, guiding you, and loving you as you step into the woman you are capable of becoming. With that in mind, is there reason to fear your potential? I would argue that there is not.
Want to know more about why you are important enough for the potential God has given you read my post on The Importance of You.
