A Lesson from Linus

This morning while I was getting ready for the day and as I was travelling between the few errands that I had to do, I decided to try to find some audio files of motivational speeches to try and reset and refresh my mind. If I haven't raved about Spotify before then here is yet another time that it had exactly what I was looking for. There is a full playlist curated by a user with the name Fearless Motivation that has 20 hours worth of 3-10min audio speeches with the sole goal of empowerment and motivation.

As I have been listening to all of these different motivational clips, there are a few common themes that are coming through in almost every single one of them. Whether it actually is the basis for success or it is just the things that I clued into this time around, the message of two individual words rang so clearly to me that I had to write my thoughts out.

What are the two words?  Capability and Control 

Capability

The term capability relates directly to human potential. One of my favorite quotes about potential and capability comes from Linus Van Pelt. You know him, the philosophical genius of a kid from the Peanuts comic strip. Linus said, "Life is like a 10-speed bicycle...some of us have gears we never use." 

I know that I do not understand everything that I am capable of. I have yet to put in the required effort to discover it. It brings be to think about everything that I could do, with a little bit of hard work...or a lot of hard work. The human element is the most complex element out there. It is highly volatile yet more powerful than any other element or combination of elements when placed under the proper control (there's the second of our words). 

I have heard so many people say that anything is possible if you just put your mind to it and work hard. I am so skeptical of that. I really am. There are some things that I just don't think I would ever be able to do. But who am I to say that I can't do it? Me saying that is me placing mythical limitations on my own capabilities. I think all of us do this to ourselves. We will never really know what lengths and heights we can reach unless we remove all barriers and focus all of our efforts on that task that which we want to accomplish.

Control

For us to reach our full potential, there is a large element of control that is necessary. Self-control is likely one of the hardest obstacles for an individual to get past. I am my own worst enemy. I know my weaknesses better than anybody. I know that if I acknowledge my hunger right after getting off work then I will end up with a cheeseburger and a large soda in my hands before I even step foot in my house. I know that if I acknowledge the fact that my eyes get tired after writing one paragraph or reading 4 pages that I will end up taking a 4 hour nap at 3:00 in the afternoon. No one knows my weaknesses as comprehensively as I do.

This makes it so easy for me to fail lest I exercise my weakest mental muscle....my self-control. If i can keep myself from eating poorly then I can improve my health. If I can go to the gym one more day or do one more mile or one more set with one more rep, then my body will look better. If I push through the tired eyes and push out a full post or push in a chapter's worth of information then my knowledge and sill will increase.

It is all about "if". 

I control that "if". I don't know my capabilities, but being in control of what I do every day, every hour, every minute will allow me to own the outcome. I cannot put in an average amount of work and expect results that are more than average. To achieve greatness I must put in great amounts of effort which will require great amounts of control.

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In the end the key to the equation is effort. But that effort must be guided by a recognition that we are ignorant of the expansive capabilities within ourselves and a continuous compass-like self-control to keep us on aim and in the right direction.