Serious Human Potential [Let's Discuss]

[BP]

"What are these barriers that keep people from reaching anywhere near their real potential? The answer to that can be found within another question. Which is the most universal human characteristic: Fear or Laziness?"

I heard this song a few years back for the first time and added it to my LoFi ChillHop playlist on spotify. Well I was in the shower the other day and it came on again and it really got me thinking. What is our real potential as a species? This thread can go in so many different directions regarding history, athleticism, religion, science, perhaps even art. This doesn't have to be a cutthroat, balls to the wall, paragraph style argument. Just share your thoughts and please do not let fear or laziness get in the way of you expressing your god given opinion.

Let me give my own opinion on the question above. I believe that Fear is the biggest barrier that keeps us from truly furthering our own potential. Obviously there are some individuals that have completely disregarded fear and took matters into their own hands. Today we have people such as Elon Musk, and Bill Gates however, throughout history, we've had many greats such as Howard Hughes, Henry Ford, and Marie Curie. Marie Curie even went so far as to say "Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less." I feel that we as a species have so much yet to offer to the world; one may even argue the universe.

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[LuckOverSkill]

Fear. Laziness is a close second, but it's not the kind of "laziness" that gets taught to us as children. It's more about "getting too comfortable" more so than laziness. The 3rd factor is excuses. We are very good at finding excuses and shifting the blame, less so at accepting that mistakes and failures are what allows us to progress as a species. If you want to read some very good books about this I suggest you to read "Whatcha gonna do with that duck? And other provocations" by Seth Godin, "Unscripted, Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Enterpreneurship" by MJ De Marco, and, "The Politics of Obedience - the Discourse of Voluntary Servitude" by Etienne De La Boetie. "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill is also a killer book, even though it is much more dated, but the fact that most of what is written there still holds true today is fascinating, albeit a bit worrying.

Reading Unscripted hurts man, it's like receiving a punch in the guts with every page, but it's such a great read. 100% read it if you feel like you don't have time or that "reading is for nerds" and don't want to read the others.

 

[TheValkyries]

The greatest limiter on human potential is neither fear or laziness it’s the idea that success or failure is achieved on an individual level rather than the reality that’s its achieved with help and cooperation with all other humans around you. Bill Gates Elon Musk and other rich folk didn’t get rich because they’re exceptional humans but because they had the most help from others to get to where they are.

 

[BP]

Bill Gates Elon Musk and other rich folk didn’t get rich because they’re exceptional humans but because they had the most help from others to get to where they are.

You see you can't credit the people who helped Elon Musk or Bill Gates for their success because first of all the people who helped them aren't on top so ultimately they succeeded because of what they are capable of. Furthermore they are where they are because they made it happen. Some people get their hands held by people all around throughout life and never go anywhere because a lack of confidence or a developed laziness.

it’s the idea that success or failure is achieved on an individual level rather than the reality that’s its achieved with help and cooperation with all other humans around you.

This is a fairly broad statement because you don't take into consideration that success can be achieved both of those ways. For example when one plays Solitaire and they succeed, that is by their own doing and nobody else's. Furthermore when a man plays on a football team and catches a pass from the Quarterback for any amount of yardage that is a success because of everyone involved on the offense.

I find that the human species are so much more capable of things not just on the intellectual level but also on the physical level. Usain Bolt for example has the current world record for the 100 Meter Dash at 9.58 seconds which is actually insane. Another athletic feat that just blows my mind is the pole vault world record which is 6.16 meters high which is roughly 20 feet. I highly encourage you to watch the video. Another crazy feat is the current record for Squatting which is 575 kg which comes out to 1268 Lb! It's absolute madness how much our bodies can achieve.

Here's the Pole Vault video by the way:

 

[Ada]

just some random scattered thoughts; like petals in autumn~

...interesting. there's a theory that the fear [of death] is what drives human evolution. so, in that sense, fear is necessary for humans to overcome their limitations.

we also need to distinguish between micro vs macro; as what any 1 person could achieve is obviously different from what a 100 man task force could achieve. the amount of rebels you could kill as a soldier is different to that if you were the general of an army.

as humans, we'd like to think that our potential is unlimited, and that we can achieve anything so long as we put our mind to it. indeed, such is a beautiful thought. however, we all face limitations that prevent us from reaching our full capacity. some real, some imaginary. nevertheless, humans achieve amazing things every day. it is important to have dreams and be unyielding.

as a population, we all face the same problems of limited scarce resources, death, and tax. it is interesting to consider what will happen to humans once we overcome the final barrier of death. will we stop evolving? can we be considered to have reached our final evolution? or, is that only just the beginning?

also, the only universal human characteristic is ignorance/stupidity ^^;

 

[Celticpride]

This drifts off topic but

You see you can't credit the people who helped Elon Musk or Bill Gates for their success because first of all the people who helped them aren't on top so ultimately they succeeded because of what they are capable of.

That's bull and that logic is very bad. So much of success and being "on top" is right place right time. Hustle helps but there's plenty of relatively successful people who work hard as hell and still aren't Gates or Musk. Traits that lead to success often come from your parents and other role models as well, my grandfather is never gonna be as monetarily successful as me but the morals and other soft skills he and the rest of my family support instilled in me matter a lot in who I am today and what I achieve. You don't have to be "on top" to mold successful people and shape the person they become.

Furthermore they are where they are because they made it happen. Some people get their hands held by people all around throughout life and never go anywhere because a lack of confidence or a developed laziness.

A good base of support from parents etc is worth its weight in gold. Gates's dad was a prominent lawyer who could support him if the whole drop-out-of-college-and-do-software thing went belly up. Musk's father owned a gem mine in South Africa he was far from a poor immigrant. Life isn't some totally feudalistic thing but lets not pretend having a good safety net and reasonably wealthy parents doesn't give you a huge amount of room to fuck up and take risks (being entrepreneurial in the case of the ultra wealthy dudes you mentioned). Some first generation college kid from the Bronx working his way through state school doesn't have those same luxuries. Some people also get their hands held their whole lives and it ultimately does jack. Doesn't mean that coming from an upper-middle class or better upbringing doesn't have a ton of advantages that help people be successful and reach their potential.

 

[Myzozoa]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End-of-history_illusion

 

[Ninahaza]

I wish this thread could get more attention.

its 2:45 am and i just got back home from Seattle, from a 4 hour library study session. I am currently writing a paper on the human condition and this thread fascinates me.

I get that resources are vital in determining ones success, but my paper is on "rags to riches" stories. Stories that are not confined to one period of time, but can be found throughout history. And there are many modern day examples of rags to riches stories.

Now don't get me wrong, yes its a much harder route, but one that stands against the norm of (parental)help and resources to make it.

I have until Sunday at midnight to also write up a story about the opposite of rags to riches, in relation to the human condition and today's societal mindset, so help me out and post some shi...,,,, stuff.

much <3
-Jesus

 

[Taylor]

If fear did not exist then quite obviously humans would be far better off. Fear of nothing means you can achieve anything. Being lazy simply means you don't wish to because there are other things you would probably rather do, so you choose not to do them. But you can conquer idleness where as with fear, it is what we concern ourselves with the unknown world outside of our own life and consequences following. If humans came together and actually helped everyone and not just a select group, then humans would be without limits and bounds. We, today, are restricted and confined to our own existence which strains our ability to help one another.

It's not that humans can not, but the fear to do so that holds the world back.

 

[OLD GREGG (im back baby)]

I look at the ants and just wonder is that really meant for humans? The ant achieves mind boggling feats via sheer numbers and cooperation. They work endlessly for the greater good of the colony and I just ain't sure if that is something we have in us. Being selfish is a big part of being human and maybe even being mammal. At least, I'm not aware of any mammals who display this fascinating hive behavoir. Sure, some cooperate among themselves to achieve certain things but then return back to mostly solitary lifes. The ant knows not of solitary life and I do not think we are like the ant.



In other words I think there are things that inherently limit our potential that we have little control over. As always, I very well could be wrong.

 

[Ashaebi]

I fear when my friends abandon me for no reason or explanation. Not even saying goodbye for a final time ;_;

 

[vonFiedler]

I fear when my friends abandon me for no reason or explanation. Not even saying goodbye for a final time ;_;

Uh, are you okay? Need to talk to someone?

 

[Ashaebi]

Uh, are you okay? Need to talk to someone?

Haha! XD I'm gud man it's just that fear had the highest vote count I thought I might as well share what I fear the most. All gud mate.

 

[earl]

If fear did not exist then quite obviously humans would be far better off.

We'd probably be extinct if we didn't have fear

 

[Ashaebi]

Fear and pain aren't so different actually. Your body is intelligent enough to send you these signals as a warning and indication that you have entered a dangerous situation/it's time to fight or flight. So saying this world is better off without fear and pain would be a very dangerous claim. If you see a mugger with a knife out pointing at you and if your hormonal glands don't produce epinephrine and norepinephrine you will without doubt become a victim of a mugger. So fear is certainly not an obstacle on its own regard if you look it at that sense. But you know what there's a saying bravery is the capacity to accomplish a task despite being scared half to death so accomplishing something while fearing feels infinitely more rewarding.

As for laziness this is probably the more influencing factor here but people should ask themselves two questions.

1. Whats draining my motivation to work harder
2. Why do I feel so un-energized.

Now obviously there are both factors that are within and not within our own control but I strongly believe it's overwhelmingly within our own control. The most common causes are distractions and an unambitious and defeatist spirit. You can drastically improve your incentive to work harder if you remove distractions around you e.g video games, the internet, social media, snacking etc whatever it might be as well as do activities that enables your body to release more endorphins which include going to the gym, exercising, eating healthily, getting sufficient sleep and socialising better all significantly buffers an individual's incentive to work harder. Planning helps to. Writing a list of reasonable accomplishments to achieve each and everyday on something for example a notebook or an e-calendar helps buffer motivation little by little.

Also family and friend supports are musts. Nothing can replace the bonding and support from family and friends and it certainly cannot be brought with money. So cherish them while they're still around!

 

[v]

hello, teacher from donnie darko that turns out to be a toucher, hows frank these days

 

[Ninahaza]

i appreciate all the new activity in here. i couldn't have asked for more

i got a B+ on my paper because i was too focused on rags to riches stories and not enough on how "help" cannot be so easily defined.
fucking Mr. Hendrick. i hate debating my professor

anyway just wanted to update and say thanks

Edit: Ok i love Mr. Hendrick, but still @#$$ that guy