We see this quite a bit. The idea being to do more than you think you are capable of…to perform beyond potential. There’s always room for just a bit more…more effort, more pain, more endurance, more focus.
And, of course, it’s wrong. It’s not that we are capable of doing more than 100%. It’s that we aren’t achieving 100%, realizing our full potential at this moment…we are underperforming. So, we set the bar higher…to give us something to reach for with the hopes of achieving our true, 100% potential.
But our potential also changes. It moves up and down with our capabilities and effort at the moment. Practice enough, form the right habits, get stronger, wiser, hone a craft, learn from others and our potential will change...for the better. It’s this practice of improving the potential and performing to it which makes us better. Achieve 100%…live every moment like it was our last.
And then finally there’s the hold back principle, the resistance in our heads which whispers to us to underperform just a bit. Do just enough to get by, and not get noticed…fit in, stay safe. For if we perform at a higher potential, we might be asked to do this all the time. We might be measured on this new potential and then be called out for underperformance. We might fail. Or, we might discover this is the path to getting better. We might find out it’s the only path to getting better. Keep the ratchet of turning, one click at a time. The question is…which way is the ratchet of potential turning? Hopefully, it’s forward. Choose wisely.