OUR POTENTIAL IS OUR WORTH

Realize and Progress

Psychologists have estimated that man puts to use only ten percent of the abilities with which he is born. Professor William James of Harvard University has very aptly observed, “What we ought to be, we are not ready to be.” In spite of the inborn qualities nature has endowed us with, success keeps eluding us for the simple reason that we quite unthinkingly consent to lead inferior lives. Then, discontented, we put the blame on others for not giving us our due.

Constantly viewing others with envy and a sense of grievance will lead us nowhere and can turn us into our own worst enemies. The fact should be faced fairly and squarely that it is only if we exploit our own potential to the full that we shall meet with success. Any other course will lead to failure.

Constantly viewing others with envy and a sense of grievance will lead us nowhere and can turn us into our own worst enemies.

It is essential, however, to determine at the outset whether our efforts are directed at worthwhile objectives. In ancient times and even up to medieval times, gold being greatly prized, one of the great preoccupations of the ‘scientists’ of those days was to convert base metals into gold. Dreams of instant wealth drove innumerable people over the centuries to superhuman efforts. But all this expenditure of time, money and energy was in vain, for death always overtook them before they could achieve anything. It never seemed to occur to any of them that these metals with which they worked had a different and greater potential than anyone could ever have imagined.

Iron, for example, was convertible, not into gold, but into machinery, and could be used as a versatile building material of great strength. Today, western nations, having learnt these secrets and directed their energies towards building up the relative technology, have succeeded in acquiring far greater wealth than mere silver and gold.