It’s important that you can see potential and possibilities rather than your current reality.
Potential: “Possible as opposed to actual”
You may be just one first step or one action away from a totally different outcome.
This applies to everything around you, not just your own potential to become the best version of yourself.
And I’m not talking about visualizing and daydreaming. It simply is a mindset. A way of looking at things.
I can work with that…
While I was going through hundreds of pages with images to find the right ones for you, I realized that I don’t look at things the way they are.
I look at them as a basis, a starting point that can be improved. I do this naturally, so I never consciously noticed it until now.
If you follow my quotes here, on Facebook or Instagram, you can imagine that I look at a ton of images to choose the ones I like best for you.
Some are perfect right away, others need at least a bit of work.
So when I see an image, I imagine what I can do with it rather than deciding based on what it looks like now.
This mindset applies to everything
The same thing is true when I look at houses. Currently, I live in Switzerland where prices are crazy, so no looking at houses here.
But when I lived in France, we had a house. It was a rustic farmhouse with thick stone walls and wooden beams from 1736 in need of renovation.
I knew I wanted it after 30 seconds. I walked into the kitchen and ignored what it looked like then. In my mind, I just saw what we could do with the place.
Maybe you have kids, or friends or a partner who could also improve in some way.
Again, it’s a great mindset to see their potential rather than looking at what is right now.
Do you have a smart kid who doesn’t like school and could have better grades? There are at least two ways to look at it.
You can be frustrated because they should work harder.
Or you can focus on the fact that they are smart. That they could do better if they wanted to. And you can try to find positive ways to motivate them.
At work, possibilities matter, too
If you’re a blogger, Youtuber, podcaster or have Social Media accounts with not so many followers, remember that it takes time to find the right people who appreciate your content.
If you focus on consistently putting out great stuff, you will gain followers. Believe that. Don’t get stuck in a somewhat demoralizing now and look forward to the future.
Not only will it make you feel better, but it is also true.
At work, you’re probably working towards a better job as well. Even if it’s not for right now and depends on different criteria, you need to have goals to stay motivated.
And if you’re not aiming for a better job, at least you’re wanting to improve in the job you’re doing. When you can see possibilities for growth within your company, it helps a lot.
In my first official “real job”, I started as an assistant even though I was highly overqualified for that job. But I never saw myself as an assistant.
Yes, I was doing it, and I was doing it very well, too.
But for me, it was supposed to be temporary and a stepping stone. Something like “prove your worth and they will give you a job that’s in alignment with your education and skills”.
That didn’t happen, though. They loved to have such a great “assistant” and they weren’t interested in helping their employees evolve.
I stayed for quite a while, still seeing what I could potentially be doing for them in the future…
Sometimes you have to cut your losses
It can be small things, like realizing that the image will never look the way you imagined it.
Or big things like accepting that your partner is never going to be the person you need. Or that the company culture is too bad to ever align with your values.
Always look for the potential, but don’t waste your time on lost causes.
“When people show you who they are, believe them”. – Maya Angelou
So we need to be realistic, too. I’m not saying that you should ignore your reality and be happy no matter what.
But when you focus your thoughts and energy on what can be rather than on what is, beautiful things can happen.
At the very least, a positive mindset leads to a happier life and better relationships.
I just realized that this is how I naturally see things, and simply wanted to share this with you on Learning Ninja. Maybe you also never thought about it.
Or maybe you feel stuck with what is at the moment. Give it a try and focus on what is possible and see the potential. Also check out 33 fantastic Mindset Ninja Quotes!
And if there objectively is no potential, it’s time to move on.
Thank you,
Improve yourself. Improve your life!
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