Unlock your Potential!

Posted on Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Hidden Potential!

I have watched the movie many times before, this time though with a slightly different perspective. A group of black women working at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia were helping America dominate aeronautics, space research, and computer technology, carving out a place for themselves as female mathematicians. The problem, they were black, but black mathematicians who were also females. Hidden Figures is their story.

The women in Hidden Figures were considered "hidden" because their vital contributions to NASA's space program were overlooked and omitted from history due to systemic racism and sexism. As Black female "human computers" in the 1950s and 60s, they faced segregated facilities and, despite performing critical calculations, were denied recognition, professional advancement, and public acknowledgment. The story was only brought to light decades later, bringing long-overdue attention to these phenomenal women.

I began wondering how many of us would have lost hope under the unimaginable conditions these women endured. I am sure they were hard pressed on every side but not crushed; they probably felt perplexed but not in despair; struck down but not destroyed Read (2 Cor. 4:8-9). The powerful potentiality of these women wasn’t hidden from them.

What about you? What hidden potential is still hiding within you? Although it has been hard, what’s been pushing against you has been designed to release what’s within you. The power of God transcends whatever is hidden in you. There’s a calling, calling you! Declare that whatever is trying to hold you back will not be hidden.

Key Strategies to Unlock Potential:

• Rewrite Your Identity: Stop focusing only on your current abilities. Write down "I am becoming" statements to shift from your present self to your desired future self.
• Embrace Discomfort and Imperfection: Growth happens outside your comfort zone. Actively seek uncomfortable situations to build new skills, viewing mistakes as necessary learning data.

Cultivate Character Over Talent: Focus on building character skills—such as determination, discipline, and being "proactive"—which are often more critical for long-term success than natural talent.

Use "Deliberate Play": Instead of only relying on rigorous "deliberate practice," incorporate play and curiosity into learning to make skill development more engaging and sustainable.

Seek Advice, Not Feedback: When looking to improve, ask for advice on future actions rather than feedback on past mistakes. This approach promotes actionable, forward-looking improvements.

Build Systems, Not Just Goals: Focus on creating daily habits and systems that make improvement inevitable, rather than just dreaming about end goals.

Develop Collaborative Skills: Your ability to work with others and elevate their potential often outweighs high individual IQ.

Mindset Shifts:

• Believe You Can Grow: Move away from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, realizing that your potential is not fixed, but rather latent and waiting to be developed.
• Reframe Challenges: View obstacles as opportunities to develop character rather than personal failings.

Love Y'all!

Pastor P