The Five Reasons Why You Are Not Fulfilling Your Potential.
Very few people can claim that they have achieved all that they are capable of. In the Western world most of us do moderately well. We get an education and a succession of jobs; we have some relationships that work; we are well fed; we avoid penury and destitution. We can take comfort in modest achievements. But for many people there is a nagging feeling that they could have done much, much more with their lives and careers. They know that their talents are mostly undeveloped. So what is that is stopping you right now from making a much greater contribution to society? What is that is preventing you from fulfilling your potential?
1. You do not have enough belief in yourself. All successful people have enormous self-belief. They know that they have something special to contribute and they are determined to make their mark. This does not mean that they are arrogant, narcissistic or complacent. On the contrary, they are self critical and push themselves hard because they know that they can achieve more. What is it that is special about you? What is the talent that you have not developed? What do you know you are capable of?
2. You do not measure yourself against written goals. It is hard to make progress if you have no clear goals for your life. Most of us muddle along from one thing to the next. Successful people define their objectives and measure progress against them. You should set yourself targets in the areas that are important to you e.g. career, wealth, health, relationships and social life. There are many books giving detailed advice on goal setting and they reinforce the point that the most important thing is to write your goals down and track progress. If you do not achieve some of the goals then reset them. You can be flexible and adjust how you move forward but you must keep moving. Do you have written objectives that you track regularly?
3. You are too comfortable where you are. It is easy and natural to settle into a rut. Why try something new when you are already doing that you are good at? High achievers go further. They take risks. They move out of their comfort zones. They take on difficult challenges. They push themselves to acquire new skills and to face new examinations of their abilities. This means that they run the risk of failure. Where are you right now – inside your comfort zone or taking risks?
4. You are lazy. Either that or you waste a lot of time every day on low value activities. Thinking and planning are great but it is action that leads to success. It is only by doing things and doing the right things that you change the world. If you have clear goals but are not making progress towards them then look at your activity level. If you are a writer are you writing enough? If you are a salesman are you selling enough? If you are a leader are you leading enough? Great sportsmen and musicians practise for hours each day. Picasso painted over 20,000 pictures. Persistence pays dividends. How high is your work rate? And how much time do you waste on activities that do not advance you towards your objectives?
5. You are not mixing with high achievers. Let’s face it – your friends and family are really nice people but they are not challenging you to achieve more. Spend more time with high flyers and positive thinkers who understand ambition and achievement. Share some of your thoughts, dreams and challenges with them. They will encourage you and give you the direct advice you need. How much time are you spending with really successful people?
The person who can motivate you, change you and get the most out of you is in the mirror. Build your self-belief. Set yourself clear goals and measure progress against them. Push yourself outside your comfort zone. Take on some difficult challenges even though you risk failure. Significantly increase your work rate. Mix with high achievers. Ask yourself this – do you want a safe, comfortable existence or do you want a life where you achieve something really worthwhile?
WRITER'S BIOGRAPHY
Paul Sloane
Paul Sloane is an author and speaker on leadership, innovation and lateral thinking. His most recent book is The Innovative Leader. He helps organizations improve innovation, creativity and leadership. He is the founder of Destination Innovation. He has written 15 books of lateral thinking puzzles and hosts the lateral puzzles forum.
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Comments
Marko Saric says on May 12th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Great article! Don’t be afraid to chase your dreams. Believe in yourself and make sure to do everything you can to reach whatever you aim for.
Will says on May 12th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Great post! I’ve been taking lots of action lately and it can be discouraging when you don’t see results, or can’t support your passion full time but it will happen!
Jared O'Toole says on May 12th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
I think most people are just to comfortable. It takesa lot of time and energy to shake things up and to strive for bigger things. This is hard for many but the few who do it see the benefits!
Vincent says on May 12th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Hi Paul,
Mixing with high achievers definitely make the difference. I had read that we are the average of the 5 people we are together most frequently. Mixing with the high achievers definitely will help to inspire us into taking more action to achieve our desired results in life.
Cheers,
Vincent
Anon. says on May 12th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Wow. That last one really hit home with me. Thanks!
John Edwards says on May 12th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
I certainly agree with points one, two and four. But my problem’s always been discovering what exactly is is that I want to do. Without knowing, it’s impossible to set goals, write them down, tick them off.
Ora says on May 12th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Love the article. So true on many forms. I find myself filling all those categories but most of all the just comfortable one. Why change when you are already in a comfy position? That is the hard part and in order to get to a mode comfy position, you need to find the uncomfy one first, meaning until sometime actually gets you going being it good or bad. Sort of like waiting it out until your pressured to do so.
Steve says on May 14th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
This is such a great article. The belief in ourselves is often built as we mix with high achievers and see that it can be done. We then commit to take the leap, and as we are scrambling to swim, we find out that we are capable of far more than we ever thought possible.
Hippo says on May 15th, 2009 at 8:13 am
Well, nothing wrong with being too comfortable. Isn’t that the goal of the high achiever too, to be comfortable? Or do you keep putting goals higher and higher? In the end, who ends up happier?
Warren Davies says on May 17th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Nice one, I dugg this, which I rarely do. Work hard, believe in yourself, track your progress, push out of your comfort zone and associate with high flyers. I think you might just have the formula right there!
If I could add one point, it would be to discover and focus on your strengths, rather than wasting time trying to round yourself off by working on your weaknesses. You’ll get further faster by sticking to your strengths.
Cheers,
Warren
Vicki says on May 17th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
You assume I’m uncomfortable with being comfortable, that I’m ambitious, that I _want_ “bigger things. Why?
Perhaps I’m fulfilling my potential for me? I’m not lazy. I am comfortable. Perhaps my ambition isn;t your ambition, my goals aren’t yours. I don’t want to be an entrepreneur or a CEO. Perhaps I like myself now.
Kevin Cullis says on June 6th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Nice Paul, and I totally agree with Warren, focus on your strengths and don’t try to shore up your weaknesses, that’s why most successful companies use teams instead of individuals.
Also, keep in mind that we all have periods of “down time” where we’ve run out of things that inspire us. Down time is ok, just don’t make it a habit. :-) We all have to recover some in mind, body, and spirit.
Travis says on June 14th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
I think the author hit the nail on the head with #3 “You’re too comfortable where you are.
I wrote a similar article on my blog at http://personalwebguide.com/negative-patterns where I discuss pretty much the same thing, “Getting Out of Negative patterns.” I find that every time I become complacent and fall into a “comfort zone,” I’m never able to muster enough drive to get myself motivated and on track again. I think change is actually a good thing in regards to your own personal potential, as it allows you to constantly reshape yourself and your goals.
That being said, I also had not thought of the “mixing with high achievers” solution, and it’s definitely one I want to implement into my personal life. Thanks for the advice Paul.
Eveerything Counts says on July 23rd, 2009 at 5:38 am
I quite appreciate the points. They are very much realistic and true to life. Thanks for pointing them out.
How To WordPress says on October 2nd, 2009 at 10:51 pm
These are some very strong points. For me, using the written goals is the hard part. I always forget to keep goals written down, or simply choose not even though I should.
I also think not believing in yourself can really hold you back. There’s enough things in life happening and the last thing you need to do is not believe in yourself.