5 Reasons You’re Capable of More Than You Know

Most of High School I thought I was King of the Losers.

While I was not the least popular guy in school, I always felt that if anyone knew me, my already lower caste status might drop to the level of India’s untouchables.

This fear made me lie and manipulate in an effort to move up the ladder of society.

It led me into addiction and a whole series of bad choices.

Somehow, I often had a girlfriend.

But some girls seemed way out of my league, so I never made a move to get to know them.

Now many years later, I have reconnected with some of them through social media.

Now, most of the social barriers that caused me such insecurity growing up are gone.

Interestingly, I have discovered that many of the most popular boys and girls that I knew then were just as insecure as I was.

Some of the girls I thought were out of my league NEVER had a date all through High School.

Wow!

Insecurity and fear are two of the most debilitating factors that often keep people from any degree of success; whether that is trying out for professional sports or simply getting a date.

But you must know that you are more capable than you think.

5 Reasons You Are Capable of More Than You Know

1. You are alive. 

Quick!

Check your pulse.

Breathe in and out real quick.

If need be, put a mirror under your nose to see if you are fogging it up.

My guess is that a vast majority of the readers of this blog are alive.

Life itself fills us with capabilities that are astounding.

Living people have changed history.

They’ve gone to the moon and created artistic works that impact people for generations. 

You are alive and that alone means you are capable of doing the extraordinary.  

Life is filled with adventures and opportunities.

However, not everyone knows that they are alive.

They live on the couch and never risk experiencing life.

It is true.

In life, you will feel pain and rejection.

Your capabilities will be misunderstood.

But use those capabilities to make this world better, and you will not only feel alive, but others will also be glad that you are here.

2. You have a purpose.

Somewhere out there is a purpose just waiting on you to fulfill it.

There are lives ready to be impacted by who you are.

I don’t know your purpose, but I know it is out there.

Most likely, it is buried within you.

Take the time to discover this purpose. 

Many have lost their dreams and are feeling insecure. 

You are capable for a reason. 

That reason might be to entertain or to teach or to create or to break a record.  

Regardless, when you discover your purpose, you will suddenly notice the capabilities that were sitting there just waiting to be discovered.

3. You are unique.

There are things about your character and personality that are yours and yours alone.

That uniqueness is a gift to the world.

Consider this: nothing new would ever be created or invented without someone looking at things differently.

We don’t need to follow the herd.

In America, we tend to look at issues as left and right. 

But what if you, the unique person you are, started looking at the problems in a new light? 

The circle has 360 degrees; our thoughts and ideas can come from and go in any one of those directions.  

I find it unlikely that the polls are true that say we can only think in 180 degrees.

You are unique and maybe your ideas are crazy.

Da Vinci was crazy to believe in the helicopter before anyone ever flew.

Nelson Mandela was crazy to believe that Apartheid would end in his lifetime.

Join the crazy train and let your capabilities be seen in your uniqueness.

4. You can learn.

A study I recently read pointed out the formula for hope is found in goals, a pathway to get those goals, and the means to achieve them.

All three must be present if hope is to be experienced.

Maybe today you are not capable of tying your shoe. 

But you can learn. 

Maybe today you are not capable of solving a difficult math problem. 

But you can learn to solve it eventually.

The human mind is incredible in its ability to learn and process information.  

In the 1950s, we had no idea how to get a person to the moon and back.

The goal sat out there on most nights beaconing engineers, scientists, and dreamers to reach for it.

But they took the time to learn how to do it.

You can learn the pathway and how to achieve your goals.

Put in the effort and let your true capabilities come to the surface.

5. You are a hero.

Deep within us all is this truth: you ARE a hero.

Today, we have a definite lack of heroes.

Read your history.

Difficult times in the past needed those with great capabilities to arise.

Think of a Churchill, Patton, Eisenhower, or Marshall during World War II.

Grant, Lee, Lincoln, and Jackson among others during the Civil War all had capabilities that the difficult days they lived in needed.

These are difficult times.

What does the world need today?

Examine yourself: do YOU have it? 

Can you think differently than others?

You might be the hero that solves the hunger problem in our world.

Do you dream at night?

Maybe you have music that brings together the races and generations.

It might be that these reasons have not yet convinced you that you are capable of more than you know.

If that is the case, then I challenge you: after you finish this article, find a comfortable chair and have a seat.

Close your eyes and imagine that you are capable of anything.

What would you do? 

Where would you go? 

What would you invent?

Who would you get to know? 

When would you get started?  

Today, this world desperately needs people who are living up to their potential. 

I plead with you to do your part.