“If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” ~ Thomas Alva Edison …
Holding the record of 1093 patents for inventions in his lifetime, Thomas was quite an astounding man. He invented the phonograph, improved upon the light bulb making it practical for home use, made many advancements in electricity, patented work in motion picture recording, and so much more. I would think that he knows just what he is talking about when it comes to astounding oneself; and so the question I should ask myself is, “How can I do all the things I am capable of?”
Since we each are each unique and completely different people, we have no way of knowing what anyone else is capable of… we can really only understand what ourselves are capable of. So right of the bat, we should rule out giving advice to others on what they are not capable of, as well as taking advice from others on what we are not capable of accomplishing. As a kid, I had the blessing of great parents who not only supported me, but also reinforced my confidence in what I can and cannot do. From firsthand knowledge, I can therefore say that the second thing we can do is to be supportive and encouraging towards the youth of our society, especially our own children. They are on a path of discovery, and we should impart our wisdom carefully by allowing them to pursue their ambitions with confidence and clarity.
How else can I do all the things that I am capable of, after all, there simply is not enough time to develop all the possible talents I have let alone the potential ones? However, in recognizing this truth, I can certainly concentrate on spending more time doing the things I love and find fulfilling. This will allow me to focus my attention on my abilities that interest me and will provide the greatest potential for me. As long as I do not allow the restrictions and limitations voiced to me by others to affect me, I am well on the path to becoming everything I am capable of becoming.
We have such awesome potential to do all sorts of amazing things if we just allow ourselves the time to learn them well. And if we remember this, well then life can never be boring, pointless, and tedious–for there is always the potential for something better in our future. If we dedicated ourselves to it, we could learn a new career, and in that career, we could accomplish new and great things.
Edison’s life was a testament to possibility and the power of our potential. And when reading these words, and knowing that they have come from such an remarkable man as him, it is easy for me to understand that I am reading some very special concepts about life and living. Do some new things–enjoy them and get good at them–and I guarantee you that you will astound yourself each day of your life.
Spend some time today doing something that helps develop a talent of yours.
Questions to consider:
Why do we start to believe other people when they speak to us of limitation?
What kinds of things might you truly enjoy doing that you do not do currently? Do you have some potential time to devote to them? Are you willing to try them?
How might you go about developing the ability to take on new things and to trust your ability to do them?
For further thought:
“I have a very firm belief that the life of no man can be explained in terms of his experiences, of what has happened to him, because in spite of all the poetry, all the philosophy to the contrary, we are not really masters of our fate. We don’t really direct our lives unaided and unobstructed. Our being is subject to all the chances of life. There are so many things we are capable of, what we could be or do. The potentialities are so great that we never, any of us, are more than one-fourth fulfilled.” ~ Katherine Anne Porter, Conversations