What does it take to reach your highest potential, and can you do it alone?
These may be tough questions for this time of day but well worth considering at any time.
Ghandi, Mother Theresa, Einstein, were they mediocre in their areas of influence or did they exert themselves and go above and beyond to achieve more they probably could have imagined? I’d say the answer is obvious.
“The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channelled toward some great good” – Brian Tracy
Achieving your potential isn’t just about working hard and doing your best, it takes planning and focus in a clear and targeted direction, which means preparation and review along the way.
- We tend to be most successful, most committed and have the greatest resilience and capacity in the things we love doing most. Identify what it is you excel at and focus your efforts in that direction. You don’t want to work at the wrong thing for your entire working life and wonder why you never quite achieved what you were striving for. The same goes for personal goals, potential is a whole life challenge, not just career driven.
- Commit and seek inspiration to drive you and keep you heading in the direction of your potential. You may find strength in identifying a mentor or role model who has paved the way and who you can learn from. Read about, talk to, and surround yourself in inspiration that reminds you that your potential is infinite and worth the effort.
- Don’t sprint before you run, or walk before you crawl. Accept that reaching your potential and achieving your goals won’t be an overnight activity and requires many, consistent yet small steps
- Accept that failure is an inevitable and helpful part of the process that comes with lessons and growth. Each mistake or deviation from the course highlights the right way to do things and teaches you what works and what doesn’t. It is through pain we learn how to appreciate pleasure, and this as is true for realising your potential as for any other life goal. Be grateful for all the lessons and experiences along the way, even if they seem like a stumble at the time, no one achieved by giving up at the first hurdle.
- Be confident in your goals and your capacity to achieve them and believe in yourself. Self doubt and hesitation are your enemies as you strive for greatness. When you believe you can achieve and it is in this state that you will make the most of your potential.
- Trust yourself and don’t question your decisions if your gut and your skills and knowledge both tell you your direction is the right, or sometimes wrong one. Your intuition and self awareness are essential tools in keeping you on the right path to high achievement.
- If you need help then ask and commit to a journey of lifelong learning and improvement. I guarantee that Einstein, Mother Theresa and Ghandi didn’t work alone and sought clarification or guidance from time to time. Executive coaching can be invaluable in reaching your potential whether you are at stage 1, identifying your strengths and possibilities or starting to climb the ladder to greatness and the rungs feel too far apart or unsteady.
Some will argue that the idea of highest potential is in fact contradictory because potential is a moving goal post and the more we strive, learn and grow the greater our capacity for achievement and success. We’d love to explore this concept with you further and welcome your comments and questions.
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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
