Capacity: How much you can handle and how much you can produce
John Maxwell talks about the law of the lid. Maxwell states, “Leadership ability is the lid that determines a person’s level of effectiveness. The lower an individual’s ability to lead, the lower the lid on his potential.” The lid represents the ceiling of your life.
Can you make the lid go higher, or better yet, can you take the lid off?
With God the answer is yes, the lid is off! Remember the words of Jesus when He said that with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. That sounds to me like there is a lid that has been removed. Restrictions have been taken off, and you can live a limitless life!
You must realize there is a vast difference in knowing that, and actually living it out. It is the difference in intention and action. We intend, but we never act.
A few weeks ago, in our staff meeting, we were going to talk about an exercise that we do here called Blue Sky Thinking! We begin by reminding them that with Blue Sky Thinking there are no obstacles, nothing blocking the way and you have unlimited resources. With no lids, no walls and no restrictions, what would you do? I’ve always enjoyed this exercise. The creativity at first is minimal, because we are accustomed to taking restrictions, liabilities, and weaknesses into consideration, that’s the world we live in.
Our current circumstances, past experiences and the culture in which we inhabit daily, creates an environment that stymies dreaming. All that stuff creates barriers, obstructions and restrictions to what we want to do. Even though I can tell you that the barriers are removed, the restrictions are non-existent, and no dream is too farfetched for God to bring about, most of us still dream and think within the man-made restrictions.
Let me give you an example from nature to show you how we behave as well.
Fleas (don’t start itching just yet) can be trained. Fleas have a natural ability to jump. They don’t fly and they would never be able to catch your dog in a foot race. How do these tiny insects get around? Fleas are amazingly adept at flinging themselves into the air. Cat fleas, our most common flea pest, can propel themselves a full 12 inches forward or upward. That’s a jumping distance equal to roughly 150 times its own height. Some sources compare this to a human landing a long jump of nearly 1,000 feet. Scientists placed fleas into a glass jar. They left them in the jar for three days, then removed the lid. When placed into the jar, the fleas adjusted the height of the jump to just under the lid, or their current limitation, so they wouldn’t hit their head any longer. After the lid was removed the fleas still jumped to the height of the lid. They then removed the fleas from the jar completely. Even though the jar had been removed, the fleas never attempted to move beyond the boundaries they had been introduced to. They were in the jar for three days and it affected them forever.
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Dn2KEjPuc ) Click here to watch a video on this!
How long have you been in the negative environment in your life? How long have been bumping into those restrictions? Even though Christ has removed all of those them when you accepted Him, are you still living within the boundaries of your past or even your present circumstances?
You will never know the restrictions have been removed until you take a leap of faith! Martin Luther King Jr. said it this way, “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
You have the capacity to make a difference! You have the capacity to move beyond the limitation or the perceived lid! Often times, we stay and jump with the rest of society because we are afraid to stand out, for fear of the criticism of others. Critics are a lid that you put on! Ignore them and go after what you’ve been born to do! Critics are like fleas, who survive by sucking the life out of others. There is a treatment for that. The first thing you must do is remove yourself from the environment of the fleas.
Capacity can be increased in your life. Here are a few suggestions for you:
- Hang around people who are doing what you want to do.
- Challenge the status quote. Charge out of the “this the way it’s always been” mindset!
- Strengthen your character, hang around eagles not chickens.
- Increase your competence: take a class, read books, interview successful people.
- Increase your capacity by taking your commitment to the next level. Reinvigorate your passion. True commitment is the difference between “I kind of want to do something” and “I will do this at any cost!”
- Build your Confidence. You’ll never be motivated by those who aren’t motivated.
You can never share dreams with those who aren’t dreamers. You can’t talk about achieving your goals with those who don’t have any goals!
- Ask God to help you! You have not because you ask not!
2 Corinthians 9:10 in the New Living Translation says:
“For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.”
Make this declaration! Beginning today, I’m expanding my capacity for success. I’m taking the limits off. I’m enlarging my borders which are without limitations.
I no longer have a lid! I will be all that God has called me to be, in Jesus name!
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