You Are More Than You Think

You are more powerful than you think you are. You are more intuitive than you think you are. You can endure more than you give yourself credit. Why is that, you say? Let me explain. We live in a world where people underestimate themselves. Not only do they underestimate their own potential, but their own inner power.

I saw a show while hanging at a friend's house. It was the kind that you might catch on the Nature channel. It showed a tribe of villagers that were living in a jungle. This people had traits that are within all of us. Yet, the tribesmen amazed me with characteristics uncommon to many. Things that we often don't realize as we deal with different types of pressure. Especially in America.

In this village, the tribesmen would go out for the women and children to collect food. In the this video, they were out gathering honey. They would climb these giant trees to fetch their prize. To climb these trees and get the honey, they first had to fashion the proper equipment. They made hatchets to carve into the tree and hack their way up. They also made little sack pouches to transport the honey.

As they would make their way up the tree, I remember one of the villagers stating, "If you have fear you WILL die." He didn't say, if you look down, you will fall. He didn't say if you are weak, you will fall. He said, "If you have fear, you will die." Hearing this, I understood that it was not about looking down. Being strong or weak have nothing to do with it. It came down to courage.

Like swatting flies

We watched them go all the way up this tree before we heard it. The bees are began buzzing around giant honeycombs on these trees. They proceeded to take out the honeycomb by hand. Sticking them in the pouches and sometimes eating them on the spot. They also were sending the pouches down to the women and children who would take them back to the village.

The biggest thing that struck me was, all the while, they were being stung repetitively by bees. Huge bees were stinging them over and over. Any normal man would not be able to withstand such an attack, but there was one main difference. The one thing that I found so interesting: They never showed any signs of pain.

As they continued to gather the honey, they looked unbothered. All the while being stung by several bees. It was like another day on the job. No signs of pain. They may have swat a couple bees here and there, but it was as though they were swatting flies. As though the bees were nothing but a nuisance. I watched as these tribesmen were stung again and again. All the while they reached and grabbed the honey, putting them in the bags to be sent down to the villagers. There was even a moment when they took a breather. During their break they would sit in the tree while still getting stung by bees. Since it was a long journey up the tree, they would wait for a bit before coming back down. The women and children would be at the bottom eating the honeycomb, sometimes even ingesting bees in the process.

I started to say to myself, "Wow, this is incredible. How is this possible?" I realized that all this time I have underestimated the human body. I underestimated the human being entirely. You may have heard that we are spiritual beings having a human experience, a concept I learned from Dr. Wayne Dyer. I take this to mean our possibilities are limitless. We are only living a fraction of our potential. Picture yourself being immune to things like bee stings. I, for sure, can never go back to looking at honey the same way again, a luxury that I can buy at a nearby grocery store.

You are capable of enduring much more than you think. The key is that it is tough to endure more than your own thoughts will allow. David Goggins, ultra-marathoner, and all around badass, did three "Hell weeks" in one year while training to become a Navy SEAL. One of them he did with pneumonia. He put himself through some intense pain and his story has inspired millions. He taught me the mind will always give up before the body.

While listening to David Goggins, I learned this principle of 40 percent. When we're out there giving it our all, whether in the gym or on the road, when we feel as though we're pushing ourselves to the absolute limit, we have only given 40 percent of our full potential. This means that, when you think you're at your max, you've got 60 percent left in the tank. We don't even realize until we push past the tipping point. That is the threshold that we think is our limit.

"There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." ~Bruce Lee

Think about this, my friend. Your greatest enemy is your own mind, but it can also be your greatest ally. Whatever you do in life, be it working, exercising, or meditating, pain is an excellent teacher. Go through pain and you will find your true potential. Go through pain and you will unlock more capabilities. You are an infinite and boundless human being. Instead of taking my word for it, tap into your inner resources and find out for yourself. You will only find out when you go to the beyond. When you venture outside of your own comfort zone.

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." ~T.S. Eliot

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