Over the years, I’ve come to truly understand that nothing holds us back more than the limitations we have put on ourselves.
I believe that we, without exception, are all so much more capable than we give ourselves credit for. Yet even with the realization & acknowledgment of our potential, tapping into it can often be more than challenging.
With that, here are 5 practical things you can do that have helped me step closer to my best self. Perhaps they’ll be able to help in harnessing your own vast & powerful potential too!
1. Learn to Trust Your Intuition
Every single one of us was born with an intuition. However, our ability to listen and trust our inner voice depends on how much faith we have for it.
Our relationship with our intuition can be quite magical as it can help us to develop our inner strength and potential – but I find that this is only possible when we choose to take the time cultivate it properly.
I find that the biggest barrier most of us have when it comes to trusting our intuition is our ego. Unlike our intuition that acts as an inner compass, guiding us on our journey towards living a life that is true to ourselves, our ego seeks to keep us down and fights to suppress the belief in our own greatness.
Our ego is that pesky and persistent voice in our head that we are not enough – strong enough, smart enough and so forth. In order to allow ourselves to step up to our full potential, we must learn to ignore our ego and choose trust our gut instead.
Through activities such as meditation, make the time each day to quiet the mind chatter to turn to what your inner voice is telling you. This ability to communicate to your intuition will prove to be extremely useful during moments where you most need guidance and support.
2. Cultivate Self-Discipline
It’s tempting to make a wish or to simply wave a magic wand and instantly be granted access to our untapped strength and capabilities – but the truth is that it requires daily commitment and hard work.
In order to achieve our life’s ultimate goals, we would need to take consistent action and work towards our goals on a daily basis. As Aristotle said “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.“
Cultivating a strong sense of self-discipline is crucial in unlocking our potential. However, if you are finding that you are not naturally inclined to discipline, you can certainly seek the help of experts. One of the most effective ways to build self-discipline is to incorporate physical activities on a regular basis.
As an example, you may join a gym or a fitness class and hire a personal trainer who will assist in ensuring that you are consistent in your efforts to achieving your physical fitness and health goals.
Practice makes perfect and with repetition, anything you invest time on soon becomes second nature. Once you master that particular skill, you can direct your self-discipline to other areas of your life.
3. Educate Yourself
These days, you don’t necessarily have to enrol in a university to get valuable education. While taking up an ‘formal’ program, workshop, or a course can be an effective way to learn. It isn’t the only thing you can do to expand your knowledge and horizons.
Thanks to the internet, you can educate yourself on just about any topic – from crypto currency to writing and physics – virtually for free.
All it takes is your commitment, an open mindset, and willingness to learn. So if you’re thinking of picking up a new skill or a topic that you’ve been wanting to delve into, start by looking for books, or online resources as well as communities where you’ll be able to find & meet like-minded people with similar interests.
4. Work With a Life Coach
If you’ve never worked with a coach before, you may be skeptical about how they can help you to become your best self.
Having had the opportunity with a handful of certified life coaches, I can vouch that they’ve been instrumental in helping me not only in reaching my goals but also empowering me to continue to grow personally and professionally.
One of the biggest advantage of having a coach is accountability. While we can certainly ask our loved ones to be our accountability partners, hiring a third-party that will take the ‘job’ seriously really helps to keep you on track.
As professionals, they are trained to help you identify the most effective strategies and tools for you. Additionally, you’ll learn to anticipate & navigate through ‘pain points’ that may have previously sabotage your efforts in achieving your goals.
That said, it’s important that you seek out a coach that best resonate with you and your goals as not every coach will necessarily be right for you. Here are some tips on how you can find a suitable coach.
5. Surround Yourself with Great People
You may have come across Jim Rohn’s quote where he stated that “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with“.
I personally have found that who we choose to surround ourselves with most, indeed play an integral role in shaping who we are.
Therefore, in order to successfully harness our own potential, we need to associate ourselves with people who inspire us, who challenge us to rise higher – those who believe in the greatness within us especially during times where we don’t see it for ourselves.
To be clear, being selective as to who we spend our time with does not automatically mean that we are arrogant or think ourselves as “better”. It simply means that we acknowledge that who we surround ourselves with have a great influence as to how the course of our lives will unravel.
In order to push ourselves to become who we are truly meant to become, it’s crucial to be aware not to waste our valuable time with those who are not adding value to our growth & progress.
I believe that each and every one of us is gifted, talented and are capable of greatness. However, unlocking our deepest potential must begin with our willingness to acknowledge our own greatness.
More importantly, we must ensure that we invest the necessary time and effort to live up to our potential and become the best version of ourselves.
We simply must not come to the end of our journey with our “music” still trapped inside us. So make the most of each and every day to step closer towards creating the most exhilarating life imaginable.
Choose to keep growing, to face your fears and may you live a life even better than you could’ve ever imagined. Now go out there and make it happen!