LESSONS FROM DAD: YOU HAVE UNLIMITED POTENTIAL
This is a message I heard many times from my dad, he said often, "you can do anything you set your mind to, you have unlimited potential." I found myself believing him. You see I could trust what he said because he didn't say it about everyone or to everyone, he said it only to those that he believed in. I took for granted while he was alive that I had a champion of my soul, that I had someone in my life that empowered me to reach higher and not settle. I know this created an unwavering confidence in myself because I believed in my own power and in my own potential.
In order to reach your potential, you have to stay rooted to the belief that the potential lies inside you, in your own belief about who you are, and that you have the answers.
Suddently many years after my dad left this earthly world I had a realization that changed my life and brought me back to the person I had been, the person I am in my soul and the person that I was always meant to be.
I was deep in a relaxed pose at the end of a yoga class. My mind went to my dad, as it did often, and I was wondering again if he was proud of the path my life and career were taking – and mostly if I was making the right choices at that moment in time.
I started reflecting on my dad's approval and what it meant when he was alive versus now. I came up with some answers.
When he was alive:
1) I never sought out his approval
2) I was not afraid of failing
3) I lived and trusted my decisions
4) I was a leader and had unlimited potential
I simply had belief in myself. About 10 minutes into our meditation I was breathing deep and relaxing when I suddenly became aware of what had been holding me back.
After my dad died when I was 22, I stopped relying on my own intuition. I slowly lost trust in myself and lost that confidence of who I had once been. I began playing small and learned to let other people’s limiting beliefs about themselves have an effect on my own beliefs about what I was truly capable of. Instead of looking to myself for approval, I realized that I had slowly stopped believing in myself and was constantly looking to him – yes, a dead man – instead of within. It dawned on me that I had not been living my own life, and that no matter how often I told someone I was independent, I was completely dependent on my late dad's approval. How stupid is that?
A weight was lifted the very moment this awareness settled in. I realized I was the only one that could make myself proud. That I had no control over what others would think.
The only way I was going to be free myself was to let go of “what would dad think?” and find a way to believe in myself again. That day when I left the yoga studio, I jumped into my car and realized I had tears running down my face because I felt free. I felt relief. I knew that I could find that belief again and what I truly gained was the knowledge that I would reach my full potential.
I was not stuck anymore. I knew that I was going to find my power again and I was starting right then! Oh I can hear him now more then ever, telling me I have unlimited potential. I can hear him saying he believes in me. Most of all I can now feel how proud he is of me and the choices I make everyday. The difference is - I don't need to hear him - I found it within myself this time, that strength and knowing, and that is the release. Now I have the freedom to let go of what others think and trust in what I know.
It isn't always easy, I go up and down but I know how to get back on track and I am learning how to trust myself again. It is a tenative relationship, this trust building back up, but it is the most rewarding thing I have done. I guess it's like any relationship, but unlike any other, this one with myself, is the most important of my life so far. By learning to trust myself I am becoming that powerful being I was meant to be. I have more love to give, more value to add to others, and I found my calling in empowering others to be all they can be.
The best part - by listening to my own heart and soul I have found a connection again with my dad and the one above all. I am free to be me.
