If you’re not living up to your potential (but want to), do these 8 things

Do these things to fulfill your potential.

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Are you living up to your full potential?

It’s a more common question than you may realize.

Life is challenging. It ebbs and flows in a way that can sometimes feel like we’re falling behind, particularly if we’re in a run of more ebbs than flows.

It doesn’t matter your age, personal accomplishments, or profession – you may still find yourself questioning whether or not you’re living up to your potential.

This internal dialogue serves an important purpose.

It urges you to reflect on yourself, your goals, your values, and the trajectory of your life.

This introspection may be what you need to light a fire within you to make changes and pursue your goals.

In this article, we’re going to explore these feelings as well as what you can do to help you live up to your potential.

Let’s take a look at a road map that can help you find your way.

1. Self-reflection.

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We all benefit from self-reflection.

To self-reflect is to sit down, and consider your values, your goals, what you want out of life, and how you want to improve yourself.

You can then see whether you are living up to your values, pursuing your goals, and improving yourself.

So grab yourself a pen and a sheet of paper, sit down, and think about these things.

Write down your values, your goals, and your actions, and then look at where you’re not doing the work that you should be doing.

Consider where you want to be in the future. Where do you want to see yourself in six weeks, six months, and six years?

2. Set goals and create a plan.

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Once you’ve worked out your goals and what you want from life, it’s time to create a plan of action.

Do this by reverse engineering your big goals down into smaller ones that’ll lead you to the success you are looking for.

Smaller goals are more achievable. They will help you build momentum and make a large, overwhelming goal into something more manageable.

Use the SMART goal system. Each goal should be Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Take an “I want to lose 50 pounds” goal as an example. That’s a big intangible goal that will be hard to succeed with.

A SMART goal would look something like this: “I’m going to limit the calories I consume daily to 1800.”

It’s a specific smaller goal that will take you toward the bigger goal. It’s measurable – either you meet the calorie goal, or you don’t. It’s actionable – 1800 calories is a healthy and realistic number to aim toward. It’s relevant – limiting calories leads to weight loss. And it’s time-bound – daily.

3. Identify strengths and weaknesses.

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Which of your strengths will help you pursue your goals so you can reach your full potential?

For example:

– Are you self-disciplined with determination and perseverance?

– Are you adaptable to changing situations?

– Can you bounce back and maintain a positive attitude when things don’t go as planned?

What skills can you employ when you feel like something is missing and it’s time to make a change?

– Creative and critical thinking go a long way toward problem-solving.

– Networking and emotional intelligence can open doors for you that you may not be able to open for yourself.

Most importantly, in which areas do you struggle?

You may be able to improve on your weaknesses with extra work or guidance. However, it’s often more productive to lean into your strengths.

You don’t have to be good at everything after all, and it’s important to accept that.

4. Spend time learning.

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The wonderful thing about books, videos, and the internet is that you can learn so much from people who have experiences that you don’t.

Any goal that you want to set your mind to has undoubtedly been accomplished before. You won’t be able to follow their exact blueprint because you have different strengths and weaknesses. However, you can take the wisdom that a person has to offer and apply it to your own life.

You can never know too much about your goals, the people, and the world around you when you’re feeling disappointed with life.

Opening your perspective can help reinvigorate you with new experiences and knowledge.

So take time to learn. You may find ideas and directions that you’ve never considered before.

5. Surround yourself with positivity.

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There is a saying, “You are the five people you spend the most time with.”

What this means is that you are likely to take on the mannerisms, ethics, actions, and attitudes of the people you spend the most time with.

If you hang around with people doing shady things, you’ll likely get pulled into their shady activities. If you hang around with people who are drinking, sooner or later you’re going to say, “Yeah. Thanks for offering. I’ll take that drink.”

Similarly, you may pick up their attitudes or at least be influenced by them.

If you are surrounded by people who are constantly negative and tell you that you won’t be able to accomplish your goals, then you may start believing them. You may hear their words and think they are the truth, especially if these are people who claim to love you.

If the people that you perceive to love you tell you that you are incapable or that your goals are stupid, it takes a lot to be able to look past that to your own path.

So do yourself a favor and try to limit the time you spend around negative people and situations.

You won’t accomplish anything if you get dragged down to their level.

And I assure you, misery loves company.

6. Take risks and embrace failure.

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Playing it safe will rarely lead you to major success.

Calculated risk is an important part of advancing and accomplishing in your life.

For example, you’re offered a new job where you’ll have to move, but you’ll make more money and be living in a city where you’d prefer to be. Everything about this opportunity looks great, but you’re scared.

You’re scared because you’re stepping off a cliff into the unknown. What if you leave behind the old, safe job that you hate even though it’s a good paycheck and the new job doesn’t work out? What if you hate it? What if nothing goes right?

But what if it all does go right? We tend to focus more on the negative possibilities than the positive.

Sure, not everything in life is going to go as planned. That’s just part of life. However, your attitude toward failure and things not working out is the difference between accomplishing your goals or not.

People who succeed adapt to the circumstances they face.

A failure does not need to be an end. Instead, it can be viewed as a lesson learned on what not to do.

You tried it, and it didn’t work out, but now you need to pivot to some other approach that can work for you.

Granted, it’s not always that easy, but it is a better option than just throwing your hands up in the air and giving up when things don’t go according to plan.

7. Practice mindfulness.

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Mindfulness is a powerful tool that can help you defuse your anxiety about the future.

Pursuing your greatest potential may bring with it a great fear of the unknown. After all, it’s unfamiliar territory you’re heading into.

But mindfulness is all about grounding yourself here and now, in the present.

By doing this, you focus more on what is happening right now and less on what could happen in the future.

When it comes to fear of the unknown, people tend to focus more on the negatives than the positives, which can stop them from taking the steps needed to move forward.

You want to curb that kind of thinking so you can stay focused on accomplishing the goals ahead of you.

8. Seek guidance.

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Many people have walked the paths that you want to walk.

So learn from them. They can help you find some sort of direction.

You may also discover that there are personal obstacles or hang-ups that you need to work on before you can push ahead.

In this case, you may want to consider consulting with a therapist or counselor who can provide you with the help that you need.

If you feel lost and lacking direction, counseling can also be a good option to help identify your strengths, shore up your weaknesses, and find a goal to pursue.