The Pain of Specifics

“What is the book about?” is a question I am often confronted with. Such a question is surely simple enough, yet oftentimes it proves to be quite difficult to answer. If I answer merely by saying “confidence” I normally receive a rather blank stare in response, which also happens to occur if I say “human potential.” Both terms are technically correct, but in saying them it appears I posit, in substance, absolutely nothing. Both terms are in fact quite general and nonspecific and—because they appear to be more confusing than enlightening—I have thus abandoned them.

But what have I replaced these words with? What can I now say when confronted with such a question? Perhaps the book's description may provide us with an answer. The proposition that “confidence stems for our capacity to acknowledge and understand the reality of human potential” is clearly stated on the back cover of the book. Additionally, it appears as the first sentence in the Introduction, where the semantics of the word “acknowledge” is briefly considered, along with the multifaceted concept of “understanding,” which itself is explored in greater detail. But what exactly is meant by the final concept to which the above proposition refers, specifically the so called reality of human potential?

The reality of human potential refers to the possibilities which are inherent in the human person. Namely, the possibilities underlying mental and physical action, and especially the results such actions produce. When we understand the fundamental truth that things are not fixed, that circumstances do not have to be as they are, but can verily be different than that which is, that we as individuals have the ability to control our actions and thereby produce specific and determined results, that in short, our very actions operate as agents of change, we are better able to understand the reality that our actions may be utilized in order to bring about the change we desire. In other words, because we are able to understand the many ways in which our actions may be used, we are better able to understand the things we can accomplish through our own efforts, and thus understand the potential inherent within ourselves.

Thus, the object of the book becomes clear: to help one better understand the many ways in which their actions may be utilized, so as to afford them a better understanding of their potential, which in turn results in a genuine state of confidence.

Hence, when asked, I simply say the book is about helping a person better understand their potential.