Have You Reached Your Full Potential Yet?

At 1:15 today is my son's piano test that takes place this time of the year. He is at Grade 1 Level and he plays the piano way better than anyone else in this household. We are pretty proud of him.

When I took the note into the office to say he needed to be excused at 12:30 for the test I also took a glance at the board where the Excellence Club is posted with pictures for each grade and he is once again in the club with about 6 others. There is an excellent chance that when he takes the Grade 3 IQ test next year he will do very well and be off to another school the following year where there is advanced classes for exceptional students.

Our youngest guy who just started junior kindergarten this year is for the most part smarter than the senior kindergarten kids and can already read pretty good for someone who just turned 5 last week.

They are both taking the swimming lessons and playing soccer too. In the summer the older one is going to a science camp run by the University of Guelph and another is going to a play day camp the same week.

I will be the first to admit that when I was young like that and through my teenage years I wasn't pushed hard enough to do well in anything. Truth be known if I just passed that was good enough. Of course I didn't know any better. Now looking back I have to say if you can be pushed a bit to be better than average when you are young , when you are older you will have the discipline and competiveness to go further and achieve your potential. Also if you can be exposed to a lot of different things you might find your calling a lot earlier in life than going through it wondering what you might want to be when you grow up. Ha Ha.

We have a goal chart set up on the wall of the boy's bedroom that they can look at and remember the reward they get for doing well in something. Like my oldest is looking to beat the 81% he got last year in piano.

Having a few wins under your belt when you are young increases that feeling of self esteem and confidence you need when you get out in the big world. Being exposed to a variety of things when they are young will help them decide what path they may go when heading off to university.

I read somewhere one time the only thing that holds us back from achieving our full potential is the roadblocks we set up in our own minds.

My wife and I just want them to know that they can achieve great things in life if they try and keep on trying. Don't let anyone tell you you cannot do something.

Even myself I still think I can do something really great with what I know. Just not sure I know what I know though! Makes me think I still have not reached that potential I am capable of.

Maybe that is it! Achieving my potential is making sure our kids achieve theirs.'

Who out there still feels they have not reached the heights they are capable of and what could be holding you back?