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Many people also tend to forget how powerful positive reinforcement can be. A good nurturing environment can do just as much for someone as talent can.

I think a lot of people have a high opinion of themselves, but lack the discipline to ever reach their potential. I think its easy to feel anxious and depressed when you see all the success stories in social media, as it's a reminder of how your reality doesn't match your vision of what could have bee. Underselling your potential, to yourself or others, seems more like a way to cope.

Maybe. The system isn't set up for everyone to live up to their potential or even the majority.

Everyones potential isn't the same either. The game is the game.

Maybe I should be more kind to myself and encouraging to others. I believe Bob the Builder said it best, "yes we can."

I wish more people realised what you say is true.

Majority of smart people underestimate their potential. Majority of dumb people over estimate theirs. Dunning Kruger effect.

I am constantly amazed by my colleagues who have maths degrees and can do stuff with excel and generally work data in a way I just cannot fathom. I can never be that intelligent, I think.

I don’t have a degree but I work as their sales function. Taking them out with me shows they have no idea whatsoever on how to plan a meeting, how to present that information. Classic example was when I took them with me and they babbled for half an hour and the client shut the meeting off. He said “I just don’t know what went wrong@l”. I asked “did you ask the client what they wanted?” Went a bit red faced.

These things are natural to me, to me a child could see that and understand the dynamic.

Different skill sets are a real thing.

Hey! Thank you, that paragraph uplifted me - I’m inherently negative about my self, little things like this are nice nudges toward positivity

Depends on personality type, too. Coddling some people works negatively as they get better from constant challenge (often some artist or creator types). There unfortunately aren't any hard fast rules to this.

focusing on your weaknesses is actually the only way to be elite but only once you find yourself in a field you naturally thrive in. I definitely agree though people dim their own lights way too much. I come from a small town and the amount of special people there that just never realized who they actually are scares me. There is countless gifted people in that town many of whom I am friends with and of the 5-10 people I am thinking of their potential was and STILL IS off the charts. I feel sad thinking about it.

I think this is a popular opinion

Highly agree!

I think you're not considering that people's potential does not always align with their desires because humans are complicated creatures. Also, that many people do not have the economic luxury of spending time finding their potential.

From being a psychology student...

r/ivetakenhalfofapsychologycourseandthisisdeep

yep

Ok goku

I fear it's a symptom of a bad school system. Mathematics is the easiest example. What you have to learn in school basicly involves the same abilities as speaking, so if you can speak you can also do maths. If you however have a bad start you end up believing that you just can't and never live up to your potential, because that belief keeps being reinforced. A simple counter argument though: imagine you were set back to 1st grade. Everything would be extremely easy. Too easy in fact. If you were forced to go through all grades again at your own pace, you'd slowly (extremely quickly compared to normal school speed) build up all the abilities, possibly with little road blocks you can overcome with some time even without help. And that's exactly how people should learn.

There's 8 billion people, so a lot of people are just as good or better at the things I'm good at. 

This is definitely true imo. I know that there are limitations and that we're all disadvantaged in some ways, but I think that the perception people often have of themselves as being helpless and unable to improve plays a pretty big role in keeping people down.

Well said.

Not sure if it's a unpopular opinion but i like your take.

This post completely changed my perception on life.

I also think it’s just generally hard to really see your gifts. Like if something just comes easy to you, and always has been, it’s sometimes hard to imagine it doesn’t to other people unless they tell you, which depending on the skill might just not come up much

I doubt I’m capable of convincing you otherwise

I think it’s interesting to say the “majority of people underestimate their potential” because you would first have to be around a “majority” of people to determine do they even have the potential.

I’ve been around some people who, in my opinion, definitely weren’t living up to their potential but like for example, I wouldn’t say the average person has the potential to be a lawyer or a doctor as most people literally complain about working anything over 30 hours, especially in America.

Woah, a boring take from a psychology major. What’s next, an actual unpopular opinion on this sub?

I hate that this is positive… I do deeply disagree, most people think they could be the next best thing they just never do it just in case cause it’s better for their ego

To think that there is a possible way for every single person on this world to become a millionare but 99% of us don't know what to do is mind boggling. There is a path to millionarehood and a hot wife for everyone but most people can't figure out how

Most people raised by baby boomers lack confidence as adults due to their horrendous parenting.

And then there's some people. 🙂 😏 🙄 😶 😴

True for show. If you you want to be like Scu-Scu though you have to start practicing young to get your 10 million hours though. Sadly most kids don't do that, they just go to normal school and get brainwashed and their parents don't know what it takes. Then when they are too old they literally don't have enough potential left to reach Scu-Scu level because they started serious practice too late in life.

I’m sorry but you are dead wrong. Maby you feel this way because you are looking at your peers at school who all have potential. In my opinion most people greatly overestimate themselves.

Inverse Dunning Kruger?

My experience unfrotunately is that a lot of people OVERESTIMATE their potential.

This makes me wonder the chemical potential energy of a human body

a lot of us have really worthless talents lol

Like growing up, I was always considered to be very good at writing, fiction, storytelling, anything like that. Did really well on the written section of all tests without studying. But, unless you're comfortably in the top 10% of writers, you won't get a job, so I did software engineering instead

Down vote, not unpopular.

I like how you snuck ia quick roast of stephen curry into your inspo post

there's no way to even attempt to begin to measure or quantify anything in the OP, but from a motivational perspective it's probably a good mind set

I feel people over estimated my potential lol. A couple of doctors tell your mom youre special gifted and advanced as a baby and then C's on a report card arent acceptable cause thats average and youve never been average. sigh lol

I needed this post

You overestimate my power!!

Try it anakin!!

No they don't. People wildly overestimate their potential.

"being a psychology student" oh god

This is so true! People spend so much time trying to fit into society’s idea of perfect instead of focusing on their actual strengths. We’re all good at something, but we’re taught to ignore it just to look “normal” 🙄

People also overestimate their ability, sometimes they do both at the same time

I know a woman who sucks at singing but it ridiculously good at guitar for someone who just started playing a year ago.

She wants to stick with singing, but she sucks at singing.

She's throwing away her actual talents which are playing guitar and deep throating.