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Every Child Possesses POTENTIAL Help Them Achieve It
By Solomon Brenner

What is potential? Webster’s New World College Dictionary defines potential as “that can, but has not yet, come into being; possible; unrealized; undeveloped.” Your child’s potential is as unlimited as they want it to be. As parents we need to help our children develop their full potential so that they can grow into the best people they can possibly be.

At the end of the day, potential is the ability to believe that you can do something. We all have that ability within us, but often times it gets pushed to the back of our minds because of past failures or even being faced with a new challenge. Whatever the case may be, once we stop believing in our potential and begin focusing on our limitations, we are doomed to failure. The most successful people in the world—the Donald Trumps, the Bill Gates, the Martha Stewarts—believed in themselves before others believed in them. We need to believe in our children and teach them to believe in themselves.

If your child walks into school thinking that he or she is stupid and there is no way that they are going to pass an upcoming test, chances are they are not going to do very well. Once they believe they can do it, once they believe in their potential, their chance for success skyrockets.

So many people link ineptitude in one area with all parts of their lives. Though your children should always be trying new things in order to grow as individuals, you cannot expect them to be great at all of those new ventures, and they cannot expect that of themselves. The talents we possess, as well as the talents we lack, shape who we are. Just because we are not good at one thing, does not mean that we should let that affect us trying something else.

What you can do to fuel that self-discovering in your children is keep them involved. It is important for them to try lots of different things. Even if they later decide they don’t like a certain activity or find out they aren’t good at it, at least they can say they tried it. They took a step toward figuring out their potential, their unique talents or flaws.

Everyone has potential. Each person has the ability to achieve greatness. Some people may be born into better situations and may have more opportunities, but that means nothing if they do not put forth the effort to achieve. Potential is all about putting forth your best effort. Without a doubt it is easier for your children not to do their homework than it is to do it. However, without putting in the effort nothing will come in return.

The great thing about living in our society is that everyone has the chance to try. Each person can go out and work as hard as they can until he or she achieves his or her own goals. Because we all have the ability to try, we all have the ability to unlock our potential. The best advice you can give your children is to accept challenges with open arms instead of turning away from them.

Solomon Brenner is the author of “Black Belt Parenting.”