Avoiding Anacondas – Achieving Your True Potential
Everyone has the potential for greatness. Unfortunately, very few people achieve it. In fact, many people just drift along and never expect to make much of themselves. Most people don’t seem to have big dreams – or, even if they do, they do not pursue them.
So what holds-back so many people? The answer is that it is often an “Anaconda.”
What is an “Anaconda’ you might ask?
An “Anaconda” in the animal kingdom is the world’s largest species of snake. Anaconda’s kill by coiling around their prey with bone-crushing power until they literally squeeze the life out of the prey. They wrap so tightly around a trapped animal that it cannot breathe. As the Anaconda coils tighter and tighter, the victim slowly suffocates until it dies.
Anacondas literally take away the breath of life.
So what has an Anaconda killing its prey to do with people who are not pursuing their dreams?
The answer is that it is often an “Anaconda” that is holding a person back from achieving their true potential? It is often simply because of things that other people have said or done to them in the past that causes them not to believe in themselves:not to believe that they are capable of great things. It can even be because of the way people seem to regard them or behave towards them in the present.
Real “Anacondas” in life don’t look like the giant snakes. They look like you and me … People. They can be in our places of work, where we socialize, and in our homes. They can be bosses, work colleagues, friends, or even past or present family members. They can crush dreams and hold people back.
They have made comments like “You will never amount to much.” “That takes years of education and you don’t have the brain power.” “You are not capable of pursuing that career.” “You don’t have the ability or aptitude.” “You are kidding yourself.” “Get real. That’s not for you.” “Women don’t do that sort of work” or “That’s a job for women not for men.” They might even just “roll their eyes” when you talk about what you would like to achieve or when you suggest new ideas at work.
Just think about it. Who would want to pursue any new endeavor if they were already convinced deep down that they would fail? Why would they be willing to put in the sacrifices to achieve success and happiness if they did not believe they could succeed?
These people snatch away our hopes, our dreams, and our aspirations. They “throw cold water” on them by their words and their actions. They “burst our bubbles” and “snatch our dreams.”
So the first step towards achieving your true potential is to see if there are any Anacondas in your life. If there are, and once you have recognized who or what they are, then you have to make every effort to avoid those people or situations: you have to make sure that you are no longer negatively impacted by them.
Essentially, you have to create an “Anaconda-Free Zone.” An environment where you recognize the dangers of those “Anacondas” and where you are determined not to let them put you-off pursuing your big dreams: an environment where you really can achieve your true potential.
