Water, Nature, and Humankind

Everyone has potential.

Humans have unlimited potential, but most of us do not know how powerful our hidden potential is. All of our actions come from our thoughts. The brain thinks and makes a decision, which then leads to action. Unfortunately, however, we use only a tiny portion of our brain. How then can we awaken our dormant potential? In order to unlock our hidden potential, we must be able to use more of our brain. If we think about what we have done today, or what we did yesterday, we realize that our daily thinking pattern goes in a similar, repeated cycle. As much as 95% of the thoughts we have are the same or similar in nature. Thinking is also a habit. Some habits are good, but there are bad habits that we do not need or should abandon. We cannot move on to the next step unless we break the links to bad thoughts. “Potential” lies hidden underneath the façade of the familiar routine that we repeat. The potential is unleashed like a flash when we get sidetracked from the familiar pattern and think or act differently. Going off track and taking an unknown path may entail risk because it is something unknown to you. But you live only once, so taking risk is not always a bad thing. You do not necessarily unlock your potential. People like me who are older than 60 tend to wish things would be just the way they are now for the rest of their lives. In reality, however, things will likely get worse than better, and it is probably worth trying to discover something new that you are capable of doing, or unlock your potential.

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The brain needs to reorganize the existing pattern intentionally in order to develop a new thinking habit. Practice and hard work are essential, and errors are bound to occur in this process. But you must keep trying and never give up.

Connection: the keyword for growth

In order to awaken the potential that remains dormant deep inside you, it is important to be connected socially. You may think that you can unleash your potential by working harder and acquiring new knowledge on your own, but that is not the way it works. Research has shown that the ability to work with others is crucial to achieve success in a world that is closely woven like a spider web. In other words, your chance of reaching your potential increases when you and your coworkers work together to create synergistic effects. “The era of small potential” wherein you are expected to fulfill your responsibilities is over. The new era requires individuals who can adapt to the surroundings and contribute to their organization, not those who are strong. The more closely people work together, the more their powerful potential grows.
There are three types of people who have a positive impact on the members of an organization: people who are trustworthy and sociable; people who have diverse and creative perspectives; and people who can reconcile their ideas with those of others in a flexible manner.

First, you should be in a calm, stable state of mind to be connected to others, having a friendly perspective as well as positive expectations of the world you live in. When these two preconditions are met, you need to work on the following four conditions: You have to be warm-hearted toward others, consistent, and sensitive to the signals that others send, and you must also have great interpersonal skills.
Second, you should be able to think creatively in order to develop original ideas and unique perspective. Creative thinking requires the ability to understand and define words, things, and circumstances clearly and accurately. It may require an innate cognitive ability, but what is more important is spending time contemplating, having conversations with the wise, and reading.

Next, you should be able to grasp the connection between different concepts. After you find the logical link, you should try and find other new links. Intelligent tests routinely include a section on “finding what is common.” For example, you are asked to find what is common between ice and water vapor, revenge and forgiveness, dream and reality. Your creative thinking ability rapidly increases as you try to find the commonality among concepts that appear to be opposite or totally unrelated. The same applies to lyrical thinking and comprehension in literature.
Once you get used to this process, your insight is expanded. You go beyond the existing framework of thinking and view the world from a new perspective. By not choosing to go on a path that is familiar to you and by looking for a new path instead, you discover a better path. A new way of thinking can eventually change the patterns in your brain. The brain needs to reorganize the existing pattern deliberately in order to develop a new thinking habit. Practice and hard work are essential, and errors are inevitable in this process. But you must keep trying and never give up.

Setting Your Own Direction

Lastly, if you are to be a wise person who can reconcile your ideas with those of others in a flexible manner, you should be a mature individual. A mature person is someone who has the courage and mental stability to self-reflect. But such maturity is hard to achieve by yourself. You should seek the advice and opinions of others. There are many wise people out there. You should be flexible enough to shift to more efficient ways and encompassing goals without obsessing over the process or the results. Life is always uncertain and unsatisfactory. When you humbly accept your limits, it becomes easier to blend in with others. Your potential awakens when you are connected to others.
Having said that, I am afraid it may sound like a textbook cliche. You are welcome to raise questions on anything mentioned above, which can be a way of setting your own direction. When you become wise enough to sort out what to take and what to discard, your potential will finally be unleashed.

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