Movie quote from: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - HAL (Douglas Rain)
In Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, the artificially interactive computer HAL is asked by a BBC interviewer if it was frustrated by its dependence on humans to get things done. HAL's confident response (cited above) demonstrates its sense that it was working at maximum potential. I don't know a single human being who could say that. The great majority of us have never encountered our "fullest possible use" because we aren't focused enough to explore those possibilities.
HAL's quote from Kubrick's film captures the essence of how to discover personal potential - by dedicating yourself over time to some form of personal development. Unfortunately, this is not the tendency of our culture. Few people willingly commit themselves to discover the outer edge to their capabilities. Most people simply are not interested or tough enough to find out how talented they can be.
Fortune magazine recently featured an article entitled, 'What It Takes to Be Great.' According to its research, natural talent is irrelevant. There are no natural talents that align with a specific job. What makes the difference is 'deliberate practice' - repeated and measured activities designed to improve performance. In other words, "putting yourself to the fullest possible use" in a targeted field separates you from the rest.
Whatever you've been in the past is irrelevant. Your potential awaits you in the future. Each of us can make the time to more actively pursue areas of personal interest. Fight your cultural inclination to view yourself through your limitations. You are more than you know yourself to be.
Check out: Another POTENTIAL post from the film Going My Way
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