The Tragedy Of Potential

Potential. It's one of those words that can convey so many different things depending on who it's being said to. For the one who is just breaking through the ranks of a business or as an athlete, his or her potential becomes a selling point to greatness ("We are excited by his potential"). For the one in the middle or at the end of a career, the word "potential" becomes the scarlet letter of he who could have known greatness but never really did ("He had so much potential!"). At other times, of course, we use the term "potential" to describe those who had their greatness interrupted by tragedy, but this entry is not directed at those moments. Instead, we'll talk about potential in terms of what the individual can realize through his own efforts and through his God-given abilities and talents.

To use atheletes as examples, two different people come to mind who represent the positive and negative of potential. On the positive side, there's Blake Griffin, the number one pick in this year's NBA draft. NBA teams fawned over his physical giftings and basketball IQ. It was also his work ethic that impressed. His "potential" was seen in his ability plus his ability to learn. There is little doubt that he's going to excell at the next level. Others who fit into this category were Lebron James when he first came through, Albert Pujols in the minors, and Tim Lincecum.

On the negative side, I think of Vince Carter. It's not that Vince Carter is a bad player, because he's certainly not. It's that he could've been one of the all-time greats, but simply didn't want it bad enough. Any analyst who watches him play realizes he could be so much better, which is a wild thought. Instead, he seems very content to simply be good and have everyone know how good he could really be. This was true of several players in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which is what I believe led to the USA basketball team not winning the gold in the 2004 Olympics.

So, I turn my attention away from the potential of athletes and turn it to myself. If I reflect honestly upon my life, I'd have to say that I'm more like Vince Carter than I am like Blake Griffin. It's not that I've done poorly, but rather that I've not done as well as I could. Things in life, for the most part, have always come easy to me. I think of all the things I'm servicable at and realize if I had picked one and worked really hard I could be great at something, instead of simply decent at many things. Please don't mistake saying I'm decent at lots of things as arrogance; really, it's a tragedy that I've never excelled at any and a point of shame.

What has my barrier been to overachieving and success? I believe it comes down to fear of expectations and an inconsistent work ethic. Once you have achieved greatness, it defines you from thence forward. People expect great things out of the great. This expectation is terrifying to most, and is a shame in the lives of those who intentionally avoid greatness to avoid the expectations. There are many who work hard who would love to have the opportunities of those to whom things come easy. To run from greatness is a slap in the face of those who would do all to achieve it and never catch the break.

An inconsistent work ethic has also plagued me. It's not that i've never worked hard, but rather that I do not sustain my efforts over the long haul. In the words of one man who recently called me out, I'm either all in or all out. This amounts to not enough. It's time that I'm honest about that.

As I'm writing this I realize how similar this post is to my last post. I'm assuming from that that God is trying to tell me something. So to that end, I'm going to set three goals for myself to help improve my work ethic.

First of all, I'm going to commit to reading my Bible everyday as part of a plan. My reading is sporadic in frequency and in direction. That needs to change. Secondly, I'm going to do cardiovascular exercise and weight training six days a week. Once again, it's not that I'm terribly out of shape, just not in as good a shape as a perfectly healthy young man should be. Thirdly, I'm going to knock out at least two house projects every single week. This week it will be scrubbing down and clearing out the screened-in back porch and, out of necessity, pulling out the weight equipment and making a spot for it in the bonus room.

For accountability's sake, I'll post my results each week, good or bad. I hope this spurs you on to do all of what you are capable of.