One of the differences between humans and animals is that humans have the ability to evaluate, to measure and to grade their acts. Humans can also improve what they do, making things better.

It matters not who you are, where you come from, what your level of education, what is your cultural background, or what your sill is --YOU HAVE GREAT POTENTIAL! In fact, regardless of your age, you probably have not reached your full potential. You have the possibility of being more, doing more and achieving more. If this is so, then why are there people who do not?

One reason is that people fail to reach the peak of their personal potential because they are programmed to negative thinking. Many people do not reach their potential because others may have implanted a negative impression of who they are, what they can do, and what they can accomplish.

To discover your potential, you must begin rejecting the negative attitudes that you were exposed to. You need to get rid of the thinking that makes you think in terms of "impossible." You need to learn that there is much in life that can turn the impossibilities into possibilities. Negative thinking can only hold you back from discovering and developing your potential. Abraham Maslow, a prominent psychologist, raised this question: "Why do people run from their gift to potentialize?" he felt that everyone would like to be better than they are; that everyone has within oneself the drive to improve, to make real one's possibilities.

Then what holds people back? Maslow says that it is "The Jonah Complex." Just as Jonah ran away from God, turning his back on the great possibilities that were before him, so we humans have that innate fear of our own greatness; we evade our higher destiny; we settle, choosing to run away from the skills and abilities we have. Many of us fear being the best more than we fear being the worst!

So what can we do in order to achieve our potential? First is to recognize that we the ability to learn and to improve. Second, we have undiscovered potentials to be more than we are. Third, we must open ourselves up to the fact that we are created in the image of God. which means that God instilled in us a dream, a desire, a challenge. To achieve your potential successfully, you must believe in yourself. You must have faith in who you are and in who you can be! A great person achieves greatness by using the gifts that God gave. People are not born extra-ordinary. What makes a person extra-ordinary are the extra-ordinary decisions one makes. We all have the ability and potential to be great and extra-ordinary human beings -- because GOD DOESN'T MAKE JUNK!

Jacob Friedman