6 Steps to Help You Reach Your True Potential
[disclosure]
Happy Tuesday!
I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend!
Reaching your potential – it’s a main goal for most people, right? But it’s more difficult than it sounds. And how do you know if you are going in the right direction?
Here are some tips to help and to keep you on track in your quest.
Our society is deeply attached to doing things.
Everywhere we look, we’re told we need to improve, and that can take its toll. We can focus so much on reaching goals and taking action steps that we lose sight of how wonderful we already are – that the potential we are striving for is already within us, just waiting to be allowed to come out.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the doing involved in setting goals and making action plans, try these simple tips to access the potential that is already a part of you.
Own Your Perfection in the Present
Right now, you’re where you are supposed to be. You’re who you are meant to be in this moment. That’s not to say you can’t reach greater heights or that you shouldn’t attempt to. But it allows you to cut yourself some slack and appreciate how far you’ve already come.
Actively Make Choices for Your Potential
The only real way to make a change in your life is in a focused, conscious way. You need to commit to a change and act upon it with deliberation.
Look for Growth
Don’t fall into the self-improvement trap that tells you that you aren’t good enough (check tip #1). Instead of hating where you are, focus on growing your excellence. This switch in mindset makes all the difference to your happiness and the ability to reach your goals.
Set Some Goals…
Trusting that you are good enough doesn’t need to preclude you from desiring more growth towards your innate potential. It does allow you to do so in a more balanced way. Set attainable goals for yourself that make you feel inspired rather than defeated.
But Pick One Goal First
Once you have a set of goals, chose one to work on first. Attempting to change too much at once often leads to achieving nothing because there’s no focus.
And Consider Short–term Goals too
While it’s great to have long-term goals you want to achieve, don’t overlook the benefits of short-term goals too. If you focus only on where you want to be in 10 years, it’s going to be hard to keep up the constant effort. Instead, set short-term goals that eventually lead to the achievement of the long-term one. Use these benchmarks to celebrate your success and acknowledge that you are making headway.
3 Emotional Pitfalls to Avoid While Working on Your Goals
No matter who you are, goal setting is never going to be issue-free. There will be some ups and downs – and sometimes the downs will be pretty awful. Being prepared for these negative emotions can keep you from sabotaging your successful progress towards unlocking the amazing potential inside you.
If You Are Feeling Discouraged…
Some goals will take longer than others, and it may get discouraging when you feel like you aren’t making the amount of progress you should be.
We can get discouraged when we compare ourselves to others. Maybe you have a friend who reached a similar goal in a shorter time and you’re beginning to wonder if you have it in you to access your full potential. You may feel that reaching the goal is taking much more effort than you expected.
This is the perfect time to go back and assess why you started this process in the first place. Looking at your big why can renew your motivation for reaching your ideal outcome.
If You Are Feeling Overwhelmed…
Sometimes we have several big goals to accomplish on the way to unlocking our potential. Trying to work on them all at once can be overwhelming.
During this time, we may lose sight of which should be done first or which one is the most vital to our success. The best thing to do is to work on one outcome at a time. Then, revisit the plan you made for reaching that outcome. Maybe you need to break down the action steps into smaller bite-sized tasks. Or perhaps you need to only tackle one task towards your goal per day.
Slowing down or regrouping can be challenging when you want to reach your potential quickly, but slow and steady progress will make you more likely to succeed in the end. It’s okay to slow down and take it step-by-step.
If You Have Self-Doubt…
Different things can cause self-doubt. Hitting an unexpected obstacle or making slower progress than you’d hoped for can leave you wondering if the goal is attainable.
One way to re-engage in your goal is to tap into your support system. Get a little encouragement from people who believe in your abilities. You might also want to pull out your journal and do some freewriting about your feelings. This is a great way to discover the root of the issue. Finally, go back to your big why. Review your reasons for taking on this goal.
Between these three things, you’ll find the encouragement you need to carry on and be successful.
It’s not easy – however, these ideas can form a basis for you to work on reaching whatever goals you set for yourself.
Keep on reaching for your potential!
Loving Life—The Reboot!
Dominique
20 Comments
Maria
Great post. My hubby needs to read this. He has been going through some tough times.
Scott Gombar
The goal setting is one I have learned to do more often. I find if I have finite goals that I am more likely to accomplish them
azzama
thanks for sharing such a motivational post.
Kara
Setting goals is so important for success! If we don’t have a path forward, how are we going to get where we want to go?
Elaine
All of your advice rings so true for me! I started my blog a few years ago with the intention of documenting my journey of self-improvement. The goals I set were lofty ones and, because of overwhelm plus being a new blogger PLUS working full time and being a full-time student, I was stretched too thin. Over time, I identified my biggest goals and broke them down into manageable pieces. Now I find that I’m crushing my to-do list far more regularly!
Sydney | AWorldinReach.com
These are all such great tips! I’m currently working to revamp my blog while starting a new graduate program, so there are times where I’m definitely feeling overwhelmed or discouraged. I needed to read this today!
ThoseGilligans
My goal would be to practice consistency and goal keeping! Great post and very inspirational
Maureen
What an insightful post! It’s vital to set specific goals that are measurable, attainable, and realistic.
urmila deven
the all advice which you mention are really useful…I feel myself insparied after reading it… lovely post
Mujeeb Alimrany
I learn a lot through this post. I will surely follow the steps. I must reach my potential. Thanks
Jeff
The importance of small attainable steps towards a larger goal cannot be over stated. Great post
mdaisi
Thanks so much for this. I have been losing a lot of motivation lately towards my goals. These tips are definitely a great reminder that I should keep going, and still enjoy the journey as I go.
Terri Beavers
I think I still have more potential to be found. I’ve been trying to keep that in mind in my everyday walk of life and your 6 tips will definitely help.
Jasmine Hewitt
I have had no motivation this weekend. Your post was exactly what I needed to read tonight!
Christine
This post was a great reminder that I need to reevaluate and clean up my goals this month. I love the little encouraging quotes throughout the post, and they are perfect for pinning. I have a little motivational quote board and these are great for it. Thanks! Love, Christine, The Uncorked Librarian
Alejandra Graf
Love the idea of setting goals that make us happy first. that is a great takeaway from your post. It reminds me to never forget my dreams and happiness go first.
Hollie
I think we are all guilty of having emotional pitfalls and doubt sometimes. I appreciate you sharing and I love the goal of setting a goal of something that makes us happy.
Caitlin + Dani
These are all great tips. We appreciate this article!
Vaishali
Set goals, fail, reset goals…that has been my story for past few weeks..ever since I started my new job but I’m not discouraged. I’m on it!
Olga Zak
This is such a high inspiring post! Nobody can achieve success in life if they don’t have any goals.