“Muted Potential” – Part II

Juggling work, kids and NeuroBead, I often sit down to write a blog post in unusual places.  This week for example, I am writing from my daughter’s gymnastics studio, where I get an hour of peace and quiet while she is in class.

Just as I sat down and started looking through my notes about “Muted Potential”, I happened to look up and see a very fitting quote posted on the wall:

“Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one’s own sunshine.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

How timely!

Last week I wrote about how you can realize your “potential” by achieving your personal and professional goals and living a creative life.  However, sometimes we get in our own way or get overly influenced by the Circle of Concern.  Your circumstances make you feel like:

• You are in the wrong job
• Your work is not challenging or interesting enough
• You could do so much more if the setting was right, or you didn’t have a long commute, or kids to take care of, or finances to manage…

… and so on and so forth.  Can you relate?

But what if you try to focus on the Circle of Influence?

Sometimes we just need to grab a pen and some paper, spend some time to quiet down that hurricane of thoughts in our mind and try to reflect on the possibilities. 

• How can you take your potential to the next level and do so much more than you are doing now?  
• Does it involve taking initiative on a project? Does it involve getting a new job or changing your profession altogether?
• Or can you carve out a path for yourself in your current place that would feel like a better fit?
• Is it about what you do or about the people who surround you?
• What is your personality and how does it fit with your current role? 
• Are you an introvert or extrovert?  Are you an upholder, a questioner, an obliger or a rebel? How can you best utilize it?

Sometimes barriers are self-inflicted.  We need to slow down, identify them and reflect on what tweaks we can make right now.  And most importantly get out of our own way.

Once you take action on removing the barriers and moving towards your goal, you can start to peel back the layers of white tulle blocking the view of stem cells in “Muted Potential”, symbolically uncovering your own abilities.

Then, to paraphrase Mulan’s song, your reflection will show who you are inside.

In case you are wondering what I am talking about, come check out my first post on the project, where I explain the interactive portion of this artwork.

“Muted Potential” is available for sale! You can use it as source of inspiration to reach your life goals.