Monday, September 26, 2011

How High Can You Fly?

The human mentality is one aspect that we can't stop talking about. I guess this is because it is one of the major determinants of what we make of our existence. It influences the way we think, our perspective of life and the way we prepare ourselves for the future.

A lot of us see breaking forth as the act of forgetting the past and focusing on the new. But do we fully break forth immediately that first transformation is made? I saw the following butterfly concept in a blog post by Alexis explaining the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.


"The butterfly most certainly does not still think like a caterpillar.  I have not once seen a butterfly crawling on the ground or in trees.  The only time I’ve seen them landed is when they are perched on flowers or plants for nourishment.
The majority of a butterfly’s existence is the opposite of the caterpillar.  They have a completely different point of view because their scope is much broader.  They are no longer focused on their immediate surroundings, only looking at the details of the ground and the branches that they climb on.  Instead, they are able to take in the infinite possibilities of their interesting, beautiful, and ever-changing environment at their whim."

After reading that, can you answer this question; 'Is it possible for a butterfly to be afraid of heights?' Sounds crazy right? It's already in the air, so how can it have a phobia for heights? This is where mentality comes in.

From that concept, you can see that the caterpillar's scope is much limited than that of the butterfly. Just as the butterfly won't hop on the ground or on trees, it also might not reach full potential in flight. I've seen butterflies that fly low to the ground when they just start out. The butterfly has been used to the caterpillar's scope so it digests its new found potential little by little.

Whenever we experience a breakthrough, everyone sees it. But unlike the butterfly, not many of us fully digest our new found potential. When this happens, using it maximally becomes impossible. The physical and mental transformation occurs but we still don't see the endless possibilities of this new gift. So we settle for less without even knowing it.

When the butterfly asks itself, 'What if I fly higher?’ it tries it and its scope widens. Curiosity and adventure opens doors we didn't know were there. The more you look for various ways to do something or solve a problem, your scope increases. The flowers at the top of the tallest trees become easy to nourish from. You surpass your peers and aim higher, thereby getting better results. You suddenly become the know-it-all and do-it-all without even trying.  

The more challenges you face at higher levels in life, the easier it gets to overcome them. This is the reason why it is always important to learn from mistakes and situations every day. Only then can your question change from, 'Can I do that?' to 'Did I do all that?' Well, of course you did it, there is nobody like YOU! 

To understand more about the butterfly concept, you can read Alexis' post on Finding Hope Within. By the way, she's my newest teacher. So you see, I'm still learning, are you?

Why do you think most people fail to fully realize and utilize our potential? There are various reasons; this is just one of them. Your comments are welcome.

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Ebooks you might be interested in:
Change Your Mind, Change Your Life
Power, Purpose and Service
How to Identify Business Opportunities

14 comments:

  1. Hi Lanre. Thanks so much for sharing my post. I'm honored to be your newest teacher. :)

    You bring up some great points, and I was just talking about this very concept to someone else. I think that people don't truly believe in themselves yet when the transformation first happens. It is almost mind boggling to the person that they can actually "fly" that even though they experienced it, they don't truly believe it. So they instead shrink back to thinking that they can't really do it, or if they can, they can't do it too well. So I think you've given great questions to ask in those situations, instead of "can I do this?" ask, "how much more can I do? how high can I fly?" That is exactly the mental shift that needs to happen to help one believe more in himself. Excellent post!

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  2. You're right. For most people, realizing that they can be more than they are is quite overwhelming. Thanks for your comment Alexis and it's an honour being your student too.

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  3. Great post! I agree the caterpillar in its present state is limited in its abilities; it can't see nor experience the things that a butterfly can. However, this will change once he is transformed. Therein is the lesson, that we can't move to the next level until we change our perspective.....our point of view, much like the butterfly. When we allow ourselves to reach even higher than we could before, we can achieve success. We just need to realize that we have the power within to make that change and we should make every effort to do so.

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  4. That's right. Realizing and them implementing are important. Thanks for stopping by.

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  5. Hi Lanre,

    This is an interesting analogy, it would have been better with an example though. I think if you want to be great at anything you do have to keep flying higher and improving your skills.

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  6. Love your post! I actually was just thinking about this very topic. I have several upcoming presentations to make and I remembered how a few years ago, I had "courteously" refused several invitations to do such workshops. After I did a few, however, I actually looked forward to doing them. The presentations coming up are a bit more formal with potentially less interaction between speaker and guests, so again I'm feeling a bit ambivalent.
    It seems the more we "stretch" ourselves, the more we continue to fly higher and higher--with no limits other than those we place upon ourselves! Thanks and I'll be back for more visits!

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  7. To get baked, we've got to pass through the
    oven. The pressure applied makes the end result
    even better. The potential of the dough isn't fully
    obvious until it gets baked. Thanks for stopping
    by mike and sandra. Hope you check back again.

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  8. I like the metaphor used here. Part of this is also the mindset. Having the wrong mindset can sabotage any of your empowering success endeavors. Also the butterfly doesn't continue to focus on what they were or used to do they merge ahead on the pathway or air-waves of success as a butterfly. It is empowered to embrace the transformation they have experienced and it harnesses its energy to continue to excel higher and higher.

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  9. Learning from the past and focusing on the future is also important for achieving success. I agree with you Robin and thanks for stopping by.

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  10. As we grow to believe in ourselves we become more confident and experience our own metamorphoses.

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  11. Your blog is so aptly named..deep think indeed!

    Great post, realizing is one thing, trying to act on it and do something about it is what separates mediocre and greatness.

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  12. We are what we think for sure. The trick is not to let our thoughts about what we're capable of limit us. Easier said than done when we have a lifetime of conditioning to overcome.

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  13. We are what we think and can be better than what we think of ourselves. Thanks for stopping by Tahlia.

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  14. I wanted to follow you on Twitter but the link said the page didn't exist. My twitter name is TahliaNewland if you want to connect.

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