LIVING YOUR POTENTIAL

Are you living up to your potential? Are you doing all that you have the capacity to? Have you gotten to your limit? Is there more to you than your present reality? Take a moment, look inwards, and try to answer those questions. If your answer is anything short of a big yes, then this article is for you. 

Potential itself refers to available possibilities, untapped capabilities, and hidden talents, stored within a person, thing, or even a circumstance. Note that while your past accomplishments or successes may offer a little indication of what you can accomplish, they don’t count as your potential. Your potential refers to things that you haven’t done yet.  

One of the worst tragedies in the world is dying without fulfilling your potential. Myles Munroe once said ‘the wealthiest place on earth is the cemetery.’ Why? Because of the so many untapped gifts, hopes, and dreams there. Many never unlock their full potential, dying with unfulfilled and empty lives. The story of people’s lives is, ‘what could have been?’ This is not a question you ever want to be asked about yourself. 

You need to live up to your potential, but how? It’s as simple as ABCD. Well, as simple as D-ABCD, an all-powerful formula. This formula can help provide the basics or foundation for living up to your potential.  

1. Decide  

Decide that you want to live up to your potential. Nothing beats the power of personal decisions. You can only lead a horse to the stream, but you can’t force it to drink. The horse has to decide to drink. Likewise, none of the things in this article would matter if you don’t decide within you to live up to your potential. Your life is a product of your decisions; that’s why it’s first on the list. 

2. Appreciate yourself  

One of my favourite sayings is, ‘stay hungry and never settle.’ Don’t be satisfied with your past accomplishments. A soldier doesn’t win a war by focusing on the wars they have won. Rather, they focus on the one they’re yet to win. Remember, your potential is something you haven’t done. It doesn’t even matter if you fail or succeed, dust your clothes, take your lessons, and move forward. You will achieve a lot if you’re always hungry for more.  

4. Develop a positive community 

To live up to your potential, you need people that will push you to be better. Don’t remain around toxic people. Be very intentional about the people around you. Avoid sentiments, and choose your company wisely. However, note that you will attract the kind of person you are. 

5. Do it  

Just do it. Sounds familiar? Of course! That’s the motto for Nike, one of the biggest brands on the planet, but it should be the motto for everyone too. There are a lot of things that you know are possible deep down within you. You know you can do those things and you want to do them. So, just do it. Don’t bother on whether you’re good enough because you are. Don’t succumb to the fear of failure. You’ll never know how good you are if you don’t try. Myles Munroe said it best – failure is not the absence of success, but the neglect of trying. Go ahead, do that thing you know you should be doing. Even if you don’t have anything in mind, try new things. Develop a pattern of breaking your own limits and setting new ones. Then you can watch yourself live up to your potential. 

A life with wasted potential is the biggest tragedy of life. As long as you’re still breathing, it is never over. You can still fulfil your potential.

If you want to have a chat about how you can live your potential, schedule a FREE 15-minute call today. 

Thank you for stopping by

Tarnya Coley- Personal development coach

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