DEVELOPING MY UNTAPPED POTENTIALS

In my eighteen years of living, I was able to be part of a different circle of friends,

develop my existing abilities, and improve some of my behavior. The process on how and
when it started is obscure, but nonetheless the result is noticeable and good. However,
life is a continuous challenge. The abilities, behavior, and social circle I built in the past
keeps getting tested resulting in the things I lack showing that crucially needed to be
developed. Some of these lacking potentials of mine that I noticed is not being more
sociable or open to others and to be a criticism-tolerant individual. Despite having groups
of friends, I cannot say that I am sociable and open to other people. Some people say it
is fine but I think that being too comfortable alone is not good. I am lacking experiences
that other people can provide me and the lessons they can teach me individually. I also
think that this is the root of my other lacking potential which is criticism-tolerance.
Comfortably doing things alone limits me to hear the feedback of other people on my
work. Thus, resulting in me being too sensitive to their negative feedback and questioning
my abilities whenever hearing one.
Improving these lacking potentials of mine is very challenging. It is hard to find
solutions to the problems I am not even aware of and cannot fully comprehend. However,
trying solutions to problems is a step in discovering the answers to them. For the social
one, I think that I can develop it by continuing to communicate with my close friends. It is
hard to socialize and be open to strangers so, trying it first with my closest ones is a good
stepping stone. I will try to communicate and be open to them more than I usually do. If I
get comfortable with the setup then I will proceed to slowly communicate with one or two
new people. Maybe try to hang out with them and get comfortable until I reach the point
of not being scared to socialize. In being a criticism-tolerant individual, I think that the first
thing I should do is to build confidence in myself. Being confident in myself can help me
stop questioning everything I do that is being criticized. I can do reflections and maybe
read some self-motivating books to help me with it. I also believe in the saying “fake it
until you make it” so, I am thinking of also getting myself comfortable with negative
comments by continuously asking people for comments either positive or negative. I think
that being exposed to such comments can help me reach the level of being okay and
open to these things. The only thing that is scary in this way is that some people blurt out
insults rather than constructive criticisms. It can either help me develop, trigger me to
remain underdeveloped, or at worst destroy myself.
Imagining myself doing these actions to develop my untapped potentials is really
challenging and scary. Changing myself is frightening and exciting at the same time. It is
still an unfolding mystery if I can make it or not. However, like what I learned from the e-
book, self-awareness can be my first step to development. Thus, me being aware now of
my untapped potentials can open the door for myself to see a new perspective of life and
world.