How to Reach Your True Potential

"You cannot reach your potential unless you learn how to handle challenges along the way." -Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN)

Have you ever taken time to people watch - simply taking in the world that walks past you on a daily basis? Ever wondered how that woman made her way to become a successful entrepreneur while another woman struggles to pay the bills? Or why one family has managed to raise children who are concerned, diligent citizens, while another family struggles to keep their children in school? Ultimately, how our lives play out comes down to the decisions we make - big and small - on a daily basis. The attitude we choose to ascribe to, the foresight and knowledge we bring to a situation, the people we spend time with and seek advice from, all of these components aid or detract in how our lives play out. 

Whether times are going well or are challenging, it is how we handle each of these scenarios which will determine how tomorrow goes. In particular, it is during the challenging times that determine our fate. 

While there may be people who have experienced similar setbacks and challenges, nobody will experience exactly what you have gone through to get where you are. And the only way to conquer the challenges that come your way is to strategize an idea to handle it and then put it into action. 

Challenges are put in front of us not to destroy us, but to show us what we're truly capable of. Frequently on the blog, I have written about the idea of lessons repeating themselves until they are learned. And the good news is when we finally do learn the lesson, the gift that we receive is amazingly sweet and surreal. Often we don't believe we deserve it. Often we dismiss it, but today I want to convince you to pat yourself on the back. You did it! You figured out how to handle the challenge that has been befuddling you up until now! Doesn't it feel amazing?

Whether it's something as simple, yet significant, as learning to balance your budget each month to something as grand as becoming the master of your mind so as to eliminate self-sabotage and establish a positive self-talk in the most frustrating moments, when you handle what used to be a challenge you realize your full potential. And more importantly, you realize you are capable of so much more than you may have realized. 

Look at it this way. If you are or were a lover of mysteries as I was when I was a child, I always loved to try to figure out who the suspect was before the book revealed it to me. Instead of looking at life's challenges as a dead-end, view them instead as mysteries to solved. And yes, you too, just like every book and televised mystery, can solve it. There are no cold cases here. So long as you are determined, you will find a way. It may not be a way in which you had imagined or even knew was fathomable initially, but you will find a way. 

So instead of viewing challenges as roadblocks, view them as opportunities letting you know there is even more amazing life magic available to you than you thought. Now get busy Nancy Drew (Sherlock Holmes, Angela Lansbury, insert sleuth of your liking), you have some mysteries to solve.

~SIMILAR POSTS FROM THE ARCHIVES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

~Choose to Learn the Lesson

~12 Ways to Learn the Lesson

~Gradually the Pieces Fall into Place

Image: (1) 

The Gift of Starting Over

"That's exactly where you want to be: steeped to your eyebrows in failure. It's a good place to be because failure is where success likes to hide in plain sight. Everything you want out of life is in . . . failure. The trick is to get the good stuff out." - Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert

A fresh start. A clean slate. A second chance. 

Perhaps a relationship has ended, or you have relocated to a new city. Or maybe, you are starting a new job, redecorating a room in your home, reorganizing your files or simply pressing the reset button on any aspect of your life that hasn't been working or didn't work out as you had hoped. 

While beginning from scratch can feel as though you are a novice again, in reality, you are more of an expert than you realize, should you choose to use your powers. 

When you begin again you bring with you the wisdom of what did and did not work, the insight of knowing how something will turn out in particular circumstances and the ability to not waste precious time and energy doing something that won't provide the results you seek. 

Cartoonist Scott Adams reiterates in his article in the WSJ that failure is a tool, not an outcome. So indeed, there is a grand gift in starting over. 

How to Start Over Successfully

1. Take Time to Assess

Take the time before moving forward yet again to assess in detail what went well, what didn't work and why. Write your insights down so that during times of frustration in any new endeavors, you can remind yourself how to overcome the roadblocks that stood in your way the last time. Even a simple change such as switching from a PC to a Mac, begin with assessment to ensure a successful path forward. Write down what went wrong that impeded your ability to work efficiently on your computer. What do you want to make sure your new computer is capable of doing? 

2. Be Clear 

As you begin again, be clear about what your expectations are. For example, using the computer analogy, "I need a computer that functions properly without wasting my time".  Then, be willing to be flexible about how you get there.  Maybe the computer won't be the size you want because of your budget, but it still offers what you need for productivity. Or maybe you will have to leave the PC world and move to a Mac, or remain with Mac despite your expectations. The key is to know what you need, versus what you want. Knowing the difference will reduce unnecessary headaches and help you achieve your goals at a faster pace. Read this post for inspiration. 

3. Have Patience

Simply because you've learned some valuable lessons, does not mean the new journey you commence will be free of frustrations. For example, even if the new job is one that you've worked towards for years, there will still be a learning curve in understanding the new work environment. Have patience with yourself and don't throw in the towel too quickly. I have come to define such initial headaches as checkpoints assessing whether or not we are willing to be where we've so longed to be. Trust me, just like learning the new operating system of a new high performing computer, it will be worth it when you know how everything works. 

4. Remember the Paradox "Great reward, involves great risk." or "In order to earn money, you have to spend money."

Both of these maxims are indeed true. In order to change our circumstances, we must venture into the unknown in order to live a different life from what we know today. And when we have the opportunity to start over, it means we are essentially taking a life test - did we learn the lessons offered in order to turn the next opportunity into what it is we seek?

5. Keep Your Courage

The moments of doubt are greatest when we make the initial leap of change - when we do something different from what we've done in the past - putting the down payment on your first home, saying "I do", or taking a loan out for your own business.  It is in such moments that you must hang on to the courage it took you to make the initial mistake that provided the lesson. That courage is always there waiting to be tapped, and each time to learn the lesson and pick yourself up to try it again differently and better than before, your strength of courage increases. 

Having the opportunity to do something again is the opportunity to do it better and to tailor it to exactly as you'd prefer. Not everything in life offers a second chance. After all, we only get to be 18 once, 34 once, 50 once, and so on. But regardless of our age, when we get the chance to improve, don't be discouraged by the mistakes in past relationships, past employment, money management or anything that has tripped you up to dog you. Choose to turn the coal into diamonds and be amazed at what life is wanting to reward you with. 

 

~SIMILAR POSTS FROM THE ARCHIVES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

~12 Ways to Learn the Lesson

~Using Failures as Guideposts to Success

~Perfectionist vs. High Achiever - The Difference

 

source