Are you ready to take the first step towards becoming the best version of yourself?
Have you ever wondered what you might achieve if there were no limits? What if you could unlock something within you that would propel you towards your dreams and desires, whatever they might be?
Your ‘potential’ is something that, maybe, you haven’t thought about in a while. When we’re young people, in school, college, and university, we’re encouraged to categorise our skills, and look towards the horizon and the things that we might want to achieve. In our adult lives, that same ambitious drive might have fallen by the wayside a bit.
However, truth be told, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Few of us would claim to have the same self-knowledge back then as we do today, and with that experience under our belts, perhaps right now is the perfect time to return to that challenge of unlocking our potential.
“‘Unlocking your potential’ is a phrase that is commonly used, but what does it actually mean? More importantly, what does it mean to you?” asks life coach Adam Craft. “My perception of unlocking your potential is this: we are all capable of achievement, there’s no doubt about that. The question is what is your potential?”
This will look drastically different for each of us. As Adam points out, for some it might be career oriented – rising to the top, leadership roles, financial goals, or influence on the world around us. For others, it might be linked to health, nurturing our physical health, as well as our mental health. It could be tied up with family, creating a life where we put quality time with the ones we love before everything else.
Getting to the point where we feel we’re reaching our potential might involve identifying the roadblocks that we need to clear. It could be our own self-limiting beliefs, and self-esteem issues, both things that can be worked on with the help of wellbeing professionals. Or you might find that there are practical solutions, and that your specific roadblocks could be things like time restraints, missing skills, or other changes to your lifestyle. That isn’t to say that any of those things are easy to sidestep – this is the very start of a long process, but the first step is to make some time for self-reflection.
“Think about it this way: imagine yourself in the senior years of your life. You’re looking back on your life, reflecting on what you have done, achieved, or made,” Adam says. “Is there something that comes up that you ‘wished’ you pursued more? I will often ask my clients this question when they first start working with me. It’s a great way of highlighting your ‘potentials’ or ‘musts’. From here, my client then knows what their potential is, and we work towards unlocking that. Visualisation is one of the most powerful ways to unlock your potential.”
Life goes by so fast, especially when we’re rushed off our feet, jumping from one task to the next without a moment spare to think about the bigger questions that we might come up against. So this is your sign to make time to quietly reflect on what you truly want, and how you might be able to get it.
“There are so many benefits to identifying and unlocking your potential,” Adam adds. “You are possibly removing future regrets (and, in some cases, current regrets). Unlocking your potential also has a powerful and positive effect on your confidence levels. As you start to achieve, your confidence will begin to grow as you are proving to yourself that you are very capable. Ask yourself why unlocking your potential is so important to you. Is there a financial incentive? Is it a feeling of happiness or becoming proud of something?”
So, it’s over to you. Take some time to carefully consider each question, you could try jotting down your answers in a journal to return to at a later date, noticing what has changed and what has stayed the same. Know that there’s no right or wrong way to respond, you might have multiple answers, and they may come with caveats and sidenotes – that’s all part of the process. Good luck!
2. Are your goals today different from what they were five years ago?
3. What achievement are you most proud of?
4. What qualities do you most value in yourself?
5. How do you best learn new things?
6. What qualities do you most admire in other people?
7. What does a good work-life balance look like to you?
8. How do you respond to criticism?
9. Is there a skill you have always wanted to master?
10. What is your work ethic like?
11. If you could change one thing about your working life to make it better, what would it be?
12. Which people in your life are most supportive of you?
13. What holds you back?
14. Where do you want to be in one year’s time?
15. How often do you try new things?
16. How important is money in your life?
17.What does a ‘meaningful’ life look like to you?
18. Is there a part of your life you would like to dedicate more time to?
19. What makes you feel most rested?
20. Who do you turn to for help?
To find out more, visit the Life Coach Directory or speak to a qualified life coach.