When I was 12, my family moved from the inner city to the suburbs, where we had a little bit of property on a corner lot full of grass, bushes and trees. Every day, when my Dad returned from work, we’d “walk the property” and see what was growing, check on the plants, shrubs and fence line.

With his encouragement and direction I cleared a three-foot area right in the middle of the back yard, digging out grass, preparing the soil, and with my own two hands I planted an acorn. I can go into great detail about watching for the first sign of life, nurturing it from a little stalk, protecting it from storms by staking it up with oppositional force, writing to the department of agriculture asking what to do when it began growing two distinct trunks, and my tears when I had to cut off one side in order for the larger trunk to grow straight and strong. By the time my parents retired and moved from that house, my tree was the tallest in the entire neighborhood. This is a story about potential.

I have a four inch round slice of that tree today that came from one of its broken branches. My sister sanded and shellacked it and then in calligraphy wrote, “Great oaks from little acorns grow, I worked with God to make it so.”

Fulfilling our potential is what we work on throughout our lives. We have only a sense of what we might become when we are young, and as we grow up we make choices that either lead us toward that vision, or diversions that lead us in other directions. There are those who have the courage, confidence and self-discipline to fulfill their vision, and others who focus on why they cannot be what they want to be. Blame it on family history, bad choices or happenstance, self-doubt or lack of belief in the possibilities. The question is what makes that difference and is it possible to shift attitudes to the tipping point that would create real change?

When we think about our lives and the paths we have walked, the options we’ve taken, we have to admit that although we may have been responding to outside forces, this life has been our own creation. If you consider that some of the choices have been based on limited information, unconscious prejudices or judgment, it makes you wonder what could have been, had your mind considered other options?

As we age, it seems that many of us limit ourselves by becoming stiff in our thinking saying, “This is just the way it is,” formalizing and setting in stone a point of view that may not even be correct. We decide what we like and dislike, what’s acceptable and unacceptable and unfortunately the places and situations that bring a sense of security diminish. In other words, our comfort zone, our world, begins to shrink. What if removing those barriers would open the floodgate to a larger life with greater possibilities? Whether you are just starting your journey, are somewhere in the middle or have a lifetime of experience under your belt, there is always growing to do, expansion and growth.

So the challenge is in being aware of your limited thinking and to open up the window of possibilities by becoming flexible and adaptable. Begin to question any belief that tells you you can’t do something. That tiny acorn had greatness within it, and as it received nurture and protection, was able to reach that great height; what do you need to cultivate your own innate potential?

Are you willing to challenge yourself, learn something new, change careers, start your own business or take on a physical challenge? Every new experience expands and stimulates your mind. Take a new route home, park in a different spot, do something this week that you’ve never done before, or haven’t done in a very long time. Live fully, add color, depth and new vistas to your life. That next deep breath can add joy and effervescence to your existence, and the potential within you will be stimulated and begin to develop.

As long as you’re here, there is room to grow and change. It’s never too late to start again.

Amy Martin is a nurse practitioner and owner and director of Center for Healing Therapies in Waterford. She can be reached at (860) 443-0800, or at amymartin@time4healing.com