Ben Herbster said, “The greatest waste in the world is the difference between what we are and what we could become.” And that “difference” he speaks of would best be called our ‘potential.’
What a shame it is to be discontented with where we are in our career, discontented with the level at which we are producing, and discontented with our income level, while simultaneously possessing the potential to change all that, yet be unwilling to do what we must to overcome that difference.
Most people know what they need to do to overcome their obstacles, but they choose to do anything and everything but what they know they should do. It’s been said that if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what your getting.
Tapping into our full potential isn’t easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. So how do we accomplish this?
We must first make a full-fledged commitment to becoming the best we can be, begin thinking bigger, better, and differently than where we currently are, believe in our self that we may begin to overcome our fears and doubts, and do so while focused on a written plan for success, loaded up with ambitious goals. We have to take some risks, cease procrastinating, and take action right now, and then doggedly persist in spite of the inevitable setbacks. We have to learn to fail forward, to learn from our mistakes, then commit ourselves to not repeat those mistakes. Adversity shows up in everyone’s life and career, the measure of our character is how we take on that adversity.
Finally, we have to have developed and take on a ‘Never Quit” mindset, a different mindset, and this may be the hardest part of this process, but it’s worth it, and we can do it if we focus where our focus should be, if we will begin to focus not on what we can’t do, but on what we can do, focus on our potential, not our limitations. We have to change our mindset, and when we do, these words from Dr. Wayne Dyer will ring true; “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” It’s not about, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ No, it’s about, ‘I’ll see it when I believe it.’
The path to fulfilling our potential is really about rejecting mediocrity, and if we aren’t willing to do what we must to fulfill our potential, we shouldn’t expect to see any change in the circumstances we’ve created. We have to take action. Intention is a wonderful thing, so is the inspiration that drives that intention, but we must take action if we are to manifest our full potential.
If you’ll make the commitment necessary and follow up that commitment with the proper mindset and action you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish. Fulfilling our potential isn’t about performing the miraculous, it’s about accomplishing what we are already equipped to accomplish. As Thomas Edison suggested, “If we did all the things we are capable of doing; we would literally astound ourselves.”
Begin astounding yourself today, begin fulfilling your potential. All that you need already resides within you!