Why do you underestimate yourself?

Many people today are never pushed as hard as they can go. That means they never find out how far they can actually go. They get comfortable with mediocrity.

And nobody calls it mediocrity because it’s encouraged in our society. It takes real self-awareness and willpower to even reflect on this.

Yesterday at the gym I was doing dips on the machine. At some point I stepped away to do another exercise since I was doing a superset. When I came back, another guy was attempting to lower the weight. I told him we could share the machine, and he agreed. I added 10 extra kilos to what I was already lifting. He did his set, and afterward, he told me he didn’t know he could lift that much, it was nearly double his usual weight.

So many times in life we don’t push hard enough. We set goals that are too small, just to make sure we reach them. We set mediocre goals because we’re scared of failing.

I didn’t really do anything. I was just there, and my presence made him try. Sometimes that’s all it takes, someone around you pushing a bit harder.

So why do we underestimate our potential?

Because we’re afraid to fail. Because we don’t want to feel disappointed. But that fear comes at a cost, the cost of living a life that isn’t fully lived.

What does “potential” really mean? It’s simply how much we can achieve or create. It’s our own power. But we forget how powerful we truly are because the system around us doesn’t want us to remember.

The system constantly reminds us that we need something external to feel powerful. Look at the media, the culture, religion, we’ve been programmed to believe that something outside ourselves is stronger, and that if we don’t follow the rules, we’ll be punished.

Deep down you know that’s not true. You know you’re powerful beyond measure. But we like to stay small because it feels safe, it feels familiar. We tell ourselves “it’s okay, I’ll just do this goal,” and then we stop there.

On the other extreme, some of us set unrealistic goals. I used to do this, I’d aim for crazy targets that weren’t possible in the time frame I gave myself, and I’d end up disappointed.

There’s a quote from Bill Gates: Most people overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.

That was me. I overestimated what I could do in three or twelve months because I wanted a quick win. “Yes, I can make X amount of money in three months.” “Yes, I can finish this book in two months.” But the timelines were unrealistic.

There’s a balance to be found, a goal that challenges you but doesn’t crush you.

In my fitness challenge, I see two common patterns. One: people hit their three-month goals in five weeks or even three. That’s wild. Imagine setting a 12-week goal and achieving it in three. It shows how often we think too small.

The second pattern: people don’t set the right goals at all. They say, “I want to get stronger” or “I want to lose weight.” Those aren’t real goals.

If we’re serious about achieving something, we need to stop and reverse-engineer it, get clear on what we want, and then break it down into daily actions.

I’ve seen this in my own training too. I switched my focus in my strength programme to lifting heavy instead of running long distances for this block of training, and now I’m lifting nearly double what I used to. That’s because my coach pushes me. I know my pattern, I like to keep energy in reserve from my endurance running mindset. But that also means I don’t go all out.

That’s the beauty of having a coach, someone who challenges you to reach new levels.

When you start pushing yourself, you’ll realise just how much you’ve been holding back.

Most people love comfort, not because they’re lazy, but because deep down they don’t believe in themselves. They wait for the perfect moment, for inspiration to strike, for something external to change things. But that moment never comes.

We all know someone who’s been stuck for years, waiting for motivation. But inspiration doesn’t knock on your door, Amazon doesn’t deliver it. What does arrive eventually is diabetes and the bitterness of a life unlived.

You already have the power to make a small change today. You don’t need anything external. You don’t have to lift double the weight or run twice as far, that’s not sustainable. But you can push one percent harder. You can improve your form, your patience, your focus, just a little.

Because you already have everything you need to challenge yourself and live a life that feels fully yours.