In the sports world, we often hear the term “potential” being used to describe how a player has performed or will perform in the future. When it comes to young athletes about to start their careers, sports journalists will discuss the “potential” of the young player to be one of the best in the league. For players already in the midst of their careers, the discussion points are around whether the player “Lived up to his/her potential”.
Let’s bring the discussion away from the sporting world and to pretty much everyone. We all are born with the “potential” to do some pretty amazing things: Raising great families, being extraordinary in our professions, helping others, inventing things, inspiring others, etc. Whether we “live up to our potential” depends on many contributing factors, such as:
- Being allowed to obtain the schooling necessary to reach our potential professionally: As an example, a person born to wealthy parents that make it very simple for the person to go to college and grad school may find it easier than the person that has minimal resources and has to pay their way through the entire educational process.
- Having a nurturing home environment with loving/caring parents and siblings
- Avoiding dangerous situations that could end life prematurely
- Having excellent physical and mental health.
Let’s focus on that last bullet point: Without good health, there is very little chance of being able to “live up to our potential” on a number of levels. Good health requires high levels of functioning of all of our vital organs. Poor weight control impacts many of these vital organs and as the co-morbidities diminish the “potential” of these organs, cumulatively, our “global” potential will suffer.
You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to live up to your potential. This starts with focusing on “you”, most notably, your health. Stay focused!
