The greatest quest in life is reaching your full potential

The journey to discovering self-potential is tremendously exciting! The earlier you initiate it, the more you will discover.

You may have met people who told you that you have plenty of potential, or that you are wasting it or maybe you have none of it!

The ultimate truth is that we all have within us the innumerable untapped possibilities of success. Buried deep within each of us are seeds of greatness. Not a single person is an exception. Yes, I repeat, not a single person is an exception.

Unfortunately very few people even utter the words “my potential “ in their lifetime. Some are not even aware of it. Is it not a big time tragedy that a 9 letter word which has the power to change one’s life is not even uttered once in a lifetime?

We often see teams talking about 100% or more target achievement. What they are typically referring to is their performance versus the set target given by their seniors. Who will look at the potential versus performance? What was really the optimum potential of this team? Was it even assessed? Did the target stretch them enough to reach their peak potential?

The same applies to each of us in our personal potential. What are we really celebrating as success in our life? What do we mean when we say we are “settled” or “doing well”? More than often we are referring to good jobs, great salary, plush homes, flashy cars, expensive vacations and comfortable bank balance.

Pause for a moment and ask yourself - have I used my fullest potential in my life so far? Think about the infinite things that you are good at. Assess the efforts that you are putting in for getting results in life. Mark in bold, underline and red all those tasks that you gave only your average efforts. Those efforts were just enough to see you through some measure of success which others set for you.

Ineffective people live day after day with unused potential. They experience synergy only in small, peripheral ways in their lives. But creative experiences can be produced regularly, consistently, almost daily in people’s lives. It requires enormous personal security and openness and a spirit of adventure, says Stephen R Covey.

The self-assessment on potential could begin with three important questions:
1.    How well do I know my potential?
2.    How  much have I developed my potential?
3.    How much do I use my potential?

If you are still not close to getting clear answers, let me ask you have you thought of personal potential in terms of the following:
1.    The person you were capable of becoming but you have not become as yet?
2.    The possible heights of achievements you could have scaled?
3.    The recognition you could have earned?
4.    The activities or tasks you could have changed the world with?
5.    The products or ideas you could have patented?
6.    The books you could have authored?
7.    The role model you could have become?
8.    The talents and natural abilities in you which could astound the world?
9.    The success you could achieve which would force the world to sit up and notice you?
10. The honors or awards that are waiting if you just beefed up your efforts in whatever it is you love doing?

It is never too late to start the journey to discovering one’s fullest potential. All you need is courage to face the truth that you are completely under-utilising yours.

George Bernard Shaw said, “You see things and you say, - Why? But I dream things that never were and I say - Why not?”
This could apply in any and every situation of life. All that is needed is a ‘Why not me?’ approach.

For example, the next time you think of attending a conference or seminar, stop and think  why cannot you organise or host one.
The next time you read a book, ask yourself why cannot you author one?

If you play your favourite sport every week, find out how you could contribute to promoting it in your city or country.  Better still, could you become a coach for the sport?

At the workplace, if you have introduced a process or idea or product for boosting productivity or reduced costs, why not patent it?

If you have been appreciated for being remarkably well-read and well-informed on certain subjects, are you a consultant for the same?

If you are great at organising theme parties, why not become a professional party planner?

If you are a great team leader, why not become a great CEO for your own venture?

The possibilities are endless simply because our potential is endless. But the secret of getting ahead is getting started. Start with asking yourself questions. Some of the questions in this article may make you restless or keep you awake at night. Please be happy if this happens. This discomfort is a gift that only few blessed souls get in their life. It is this restlessness that will keep you on your feet and will not permit you to settle till you dig hard inside yourself to discover your full potential. So get started without a moment’s delay and dig really hard.

Remember,  “Man’s main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is. The most important product of his effort is his own personality.”

The author is a corporate soft skills trainer and a motivational speaker