7 Unusual Signs You're Reaching Your Potential
What does reaching your potential look like to you?
To one person it could be getting promoted to a particular position within the company that they have been working in for years. While to another it could not be career-oriented at all, and instead it comes with building a life where they are regularly able to do the things that they are passionate about.
No matter how you currently define your potential, chances are that you not only are able to, but that you are also regularly being hard on yourself for the gap that exists between present day you and that seemingly "ideal state".
In hopes of breaking that unnecessary self-criticism, I've put together a list of 7 unusual signs that you're reaching the potential state that we all seem to covet in both video and written form.
See how many of these you are currently a living example of, and choose to give yourself some credit for the incredible progress that you are making.
1. YOU STOP GIVING A S**T ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK
In my opinion, one of the biggest hindrances to someone reaching their potential is being overly preoccupied with what others think of them. Whether your goals are common or farfetched, you need to be able to pursue them in whatever way you deem as most effective for you, rather than in a manner that you believe will be most socially acceptable.
I'm not suggesting that we all act recklessly in our decision making with no consideration for how it may or may not impact others, but that we instead stop limiting our approach based on what others are going to think of it. The more you are yourself on a regular basis, the closer you are to attaining whatever your potential entails.
2. YOU DICTATE YOUR BEDTIME
This may sound silly, but you'd be amazed by how many of us (even those well into adulthood) continue to rob ourselves of our beauty rest. I know that the demands of work can make controlling your bedtime difficult, but nothing makes work more difficult than not dictating your own bedtime based on what works best for you.
Those on the cusp of reaching their potential will happily either go to bed early or stay up late based on what they know works best for them, without any care for what others are going to think of their decision.
3. YOU SPEND MONEY ON YOU & NOT WHAT OTHERS EXPECT OF YOU
Let me immediately clarify that I am not suggesting that reaching your potential involves spending selfishly. What I am referring to is that you choose to allocate your resources in ways that benefit you and your long-term goals, rather than in ways that others may expect.
Just because "most people" your age own a car or go out for dinner several nights per week, doesn't mean that you necessarily have to as well. If those things are important to you, awesome, but if not, a big sign of reaching your potential is your ability to differentiate what does and doesn't matter to you and act in accordance with it.
4. YOU'RE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR PAST
We've all been through our fair share of hardship in life. And while many of us would love to have not gone through much of what we have, we also know that we cannot change the past. A key indicator to you reaching your potential is how you choose to look back upon your life story thus far.
Do you regularly dwell upon your past, basking in the victimhood, pain or sadness that came along with it? Or do you accept it for what it was, and instead focus on being appreciative for what you learned about yourself, others, and how to handle particular circumstances from it?
5. YOU'RE OKAY WITH BEING WRONG
No matter how spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually intelligent you believe yourself to be, we are all wrong from time-to-time in this life. And in my opinion one of the most obvious indicators to you being close to reaching your potential is your acceptance of that reality.
The more you admit your shortcomings and are willing to learn from others, rather than waste your time pointing the blame elsewhere, the more likely you are to expedite your path to success.
6. YOU HAPPILY COMPLIMENT OTHERS
How do you view the accomplishments of others? Does seeing someone succeed at something that you deem as admirable inspire you to pursue your own goals, or does it fill you with jealousy?
Feeling jealous has never done anyone any good, yet we seem to love casually stating it ("I'm so jealous") as if it does. You genuinely being happy for, rather than jealous of others, will save you a ton of time and energy that you can instead direct towards your own projects.
7. PATIENCE IS NOT A PROBLEM
We all know what it feels like to be impatient. And while we wish that life never required us to be patient, we also know that will never be the case. Pretty well every big accomplishment in life that you deem as admirable took time to develop into what it is today.
Another key indicator of you being close to reaching your potential is that you not only recognize the necessity to patience, but that you are also able to be it quite easily.
Do you enjoy light-hearted yet thought-provoking content like this? Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and to like me on Facebook to see the new video and article that I release weekly as part of my mission to make personal development more interesting for both of us!
