“Stop saving yourself and give life your all. You’re not giving today all you got. You’re not all in and you’re not emptying yourself completely. Let’s go baby, because tomorrow ain’t promised but today is here. It’s time to go all in now!
~Coach Prime a.k.a. Deion Sanders
When you were young, you had goals for yourself. Those goals were fashioned by your environment, your hobbies/interests, life experiences, what others wanted for you, and/or what you felt would give you the type of life you wanted. As you got older, have those goals been modified in any way? If so, how and why? If you take a self-assessment of you and all of your goals, how many have you actually achieved? Have you given them your all or have you done a disservice to yourself? Where are you at in reaching your fullest potential? Hopefully you are pleased with the answers to those questions. If not, hopefully you’re willing to put in the work until you are.
According to Mindset Works, when you set yourself challenges to work towards, you are pushing the boundaries, and in turn, rewiring your brain. So by setting goals and then achieving those goals, you’re actually inching closer to achieving your full potential and changing yourself for the better in the process. As you work towards reaching your full potential, it is essential to have an environment of supportive people in your corner. No one does it alone. You know the saying, “it takes a village”. Not one of us will thrive in isolation. Any successful person has used mentors, their personal support networks, or coaches.
Reaching your full potential is the dance between passion and willpower. Sometimes we are unable to reach our potential due to the restraints we have placed on ourselves. Yet, we forget we put these restraints on in the first place. In order to progress, we first have to remember the limits we’ve put on ourselves, then habitually remove them. In the word of William Faulkner, “Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” A key to reaching your full potential, is being your authentic self. Not the version of you your parents, your community, social media, a significant other, any affiliations, or your “friends” want. Your authentic self that you were born to be. As you got older, only you knew what and who that was. Now ask yourself, Did I differ from that?
I 100% believe that for every single person that exists, your fullest potential is never out of reach. As long as you’re willing to do the work. Every goal…every destination…has a journey. We can do things than can alter aspects of the journey, negatively and positively, but we have no control over the overall journey. Thus, there will be aspects of the journey that we will have to depend on some serious faith and grit to get us through. A lot of people want the destination without the journey. Your fullest potential isn’t a destination; it’s a path. It’s a journey of liberation from your own limitations and the limitations that others (sometimes with good intentions) put upon you.
American psychologist Abraham Maslow published a paper, “A Theory of Human Motivation”, in the journal Psychological Review. According to him, if you wanted to get to the top of the pyramid and fulfill your fullest potential, you had to build a solid base. To create this solid base, you needed to have 6 main blocks in its foundation.
Physical Security (the first 2 blocks) – eating right, exercising, being physically healthy
Emotional Security - As an adult, we no longer need the physical safety that family offers. But we are still social animals, and the feeling of belonging is critical to our mental wellbeing.
Environment - An environment that is rich in resources is another key factor. Having access to information and resources that help us fulfill our full potential is a critical component for success.
Mindset (the final 2 blocks) - Mindset is often the highest mountain to climb when it comes to reaching our full potential.
View challenges as opportunities
Acknowledge and embrace your weaknesses
Learn to give and receive constructive criticism
Prioritize learning over seeking approval
Be inspired by the success of others
Understand failure is an opportunity to grow
Persist in the face of setbacks
Committing to the process of becoming self-actualized can feel overwhelming. Try not to
get too caught up in doing all the right things or holding yourself to impossibly high standards. Past challenges or present life circumstances can make things like growth, self-reflection, and authenticity more difficult. Continued growth is a part of being your fullest self. That doesn’t stop until the journey of life is complete…aka…you die. Reaching a point of being your fullest self has to be maintained, just like a level of fitness must be sustained by having consistency with behaviors and habits.
Courtesy of SoulSalt.com, I want to leave you with some key steps to unleashing your full potential!.......
Develop a growth mindset
Don’t get lost in routine
Seek support to grow and thrive
Focus on your goals
Master your foundational practices
Never stop dreaming or setting new goals
Become your authentic self
Learn to accept and utilize failure
“You are not your circumstances. You are your possibilities. If you know that, you can do anything.”
~Oprah Winfrey
“You were born with wings. You are not meant for crawling, so don't. You have wings. Learn to use them and fly.”
~Rumi
