My tennis coach was working to improve my serve. He told me to swing as hard as I could when hitting the ball above my head.

After I gave it all my might, or at least I thought so, he was unpleased and asked, “Can you do better?”

I quickly decided the only answer he would accept from me was a yes, so I replied in the affirmative and tried again. I swung harder than ever. Not much different happened.

After a few more failed attempts to please him, he pointed at a fence a long distance away, and told me to hit that fence with the ball. I thought, “Oh geez, I can never hit a ball that far.” As hard as I tried, I didn’t. My balls fell 10-20’ short.

Unconvinced I was doing my best he kept prodding me on to put more into my strikes until I hit that fence. Physically, I felt like I was doing everything I could do.

Stumbling here, and not wanting to fail, after a quick prayer, I decided that it was my mind that needed to change. God gave me unlimited power, I reminded myself. I needed to make up my mind that I could hit that fence, and then do it.

After a couple of more tries, I hit that fence. Yay! I exclaimed out loud. My coach smiled.

And the lesson was learned. I was capable of a lot more than I thought. My coach saw the potential, but I didn’t until he brought it out of me.

Are you realizing your potential? Are you swinging as hard as you can toward reaching worthy goals in your life? Do you try, fail, and then give up, or make up your mind that you can do better, and then do better until you succeed?

God has endowed us with infinite potential for accomplishing great works.

If we measure our capacities materially, we may feel we’ve reached our limit and can do no more. But with God, there is always more we can do. There are no limits in Spirit. Divine Mind, the source of our capacities, endows us with intelligence, power, ability and wisdom beyond anything we’ve even glimpsed.

In my efforts to hit the fence, I didn’t need more exercise, a different diet, another body, bigger muscles, or anything physical to succeed. I needed to change my mind. I needed to see that I could do it. The action of my body followed the path of my mind.

I’m not talking about relying upon blind human will and brute force to bring the best results. Those can be harmful and lead to heartbreak. It’s the mind’s opening to truth that awakens thought to its potential and takes mind and body to a better place. It was a truth that I could hit a better serve. My coach helped me realize that truth, and I finally got it. And my serve has been getting better ever since.

You can do more too. Accept the possibility!

“We are all capable of more than we do.” Science and Health, p. 89.