How to Achieve Your Full Potential

"The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good." - Brian Tracy

Once you've developed your full potential, it's time to work continuously toward achieving it regularly. Sail your own ocean, and you never know what you might find.

1. Determine what your full potential is. At its heart, achieving your full potential is about being the best person that you can be and is about expressing yourself to the fullest. Since everyone is a different person, however, full potential is a relative term and you'll view the concept in a different way from your best friend, your mentor and from other people in your life. As you continue to discover your own potential, consider these questions:
• Is there something I have ever wanted to do/achieve/accomplish, such as dancing, singing, writing, or playing a sport?
  
• Have I been thinking I could improve in any way, such as being kinder, or politer, more assertive?
• Are there any physical aspects of myself I could work on, such as losing weight, gaining weight, or building muscle?
2. Commit to achieve. Once you've confirmed that your goal is achievable and realistic, whether it be a set goal or a long-term thing, get to work. The most difficult part of beginning anything is, frankly, beginning. However, once you get past that first step, you'll be onto success!
   • Note that your goal doesn't have to be set in stone, word-for-word. Times will change, people will change, and therefore, your goals and aspects will change to fit more appropriately with what is happening. Determine the basic idea of what you're shooting for, then feel free to adjust as you go along. It's not an exact science, so you don't need to treat it like one. Allow yourself some room to grow.
   • Find your inspiration. It can be a person, a landmark, or your lucky charm. Whatever it is, keep it safe and close and let it inspire and motivate you to continue to achieve. It'll make you smile when you wake up in the morning, and it's the last thing you want to see before you fall asleep at night. Discover what or who it is and treasure it.
3. Take small steps. You don't go from crawling to running - you have to take your baby steps first. Once you gather the energy and mindset needed to take on your task, no matter how big or daunting, slow down and take a peek at eye level. Your goal(s) may be more or less onerous than you expected it to be as you get started, so adjust your pace and approach to whatever you're doing so that it fits you best.
   • That being said, once you get going, do challenge yourself. Maybe ten push-ups were hard before, but now it has turned into a simple routine, so bump it up to twenty. Perhaps a basic sketch of a bunny turned out to be a train wreck a week ago, but now you've got simple shapes down, so try free-drawing. Whenever you feel like something is getting too easy to do, take it up a notch. No matter how long it takes you to do so, you'll forever be one-upping your abilities and getting better and better.
4. Accept pain as life sustaining. Setbacks and failures will happen; they're a natural part of life. Failures are a simple way of showing you what works and what doesn't; they will help you figure out what you're capable of, and what needs work as you move toward achieving your goal(s). Life is trial and error, and as you make mistakes, you'll emerge and move on a stronger person.
5. Find your confidence. Everyone has it inside themselves, no matter how deeply buried. Confidence can also mean very different things depending on the person and their goal(s). If your goal is to learn to juggle five balls at a time, your confidence might be getting them up in the air in the first place. If your goal is to be an overall better person, your confidence might be to give people compliments on a regular basis.
   • Keep in mind that there is a fine line between confidence and cockiness. Confidence is being great, while cockiness is knowing it. Try to be humble in your efforts to accomplishing your goals and achieving the person you want to be. It will not only gain the respect of others, but you will actually feel better, too.
6. Get support. Whether you are dealing with addiction, obsession, or any crisis, it helps to have external support. This could mean friends, family, coworkers, or buddies at the gym, depending on your goals and environment.
   • You don't have to outright announce your goal to be a better person or to make such changes as losing weight, but having the people around you get a general idea of what you're going for can get you the support system and encouragement you need to get going.
7. Develop intuition. Intuition comes from experience and instinct. Some people tend to follow their intuition, while many like to "jump the gun", or go with their gut instinct. Strike a balance between these two. In one study, two groups of people were asked to pick out a poster to take home. One group was asked to analyze their decision carefully, weighing the pros and cons, and the other group was told to listen to their gut. Two weeks later, the group that followed their gut was happier with their posters than the group that analyzed their decisions.
   • Know when it is appropriate to follow your instinct. In the case of choosing a poster or a shirt, it's often best. However, in more serious cases like "Should I take this medication to do this?" or "Should I quit my job to take classes here?", you may want to contemplate. In short, decisions that will affect you and your life in the long run should be analyzed. Small decisions should be immediately decided upon. You'll feel better and much happier.