The top 6 things that keep you from reaching your potential
And that I wish I had known when I was twenty.
We all have a potential within us that is just waiting to be unlocked.
Let it go. don’t let it die inside you. otherwise, you may regret it
1. Not being yourself
You are trained for a life that is not necessarily yours or at least the one you aspire to.
I wanted to be a doctor. From the age of 5.
I ended up in finance.
Nothing to do with it.
The result: I was bored for 15 years doing a job that ended up making me nauseous.
An Australian nurse interviewed patients at the end of life. Their first regret was to have lived what others expected of them rather than to have had the courage to live a life true to themselves.
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken”. — Oscar Wilde
Takeaway: Don’t live someone else’s life. It’s already taken.
Do something you love. Let it be your goal. Your obsession. And set everything in motion to achieve it. You never regret doing things, but you never regret not doing the things you wish you had done.
2. Doing what you are told to do
This is an echo of the above.
I spent almost 20 years doing a job that was not at all what I wanted to do, but which, on the other hand, was what some moronic boss wanted me to do. Selling as many hedge funds as possible to ultra-rich people.
When you do what you are told, you lose control of the situation and therefore of your life. You wait for things to happen to you. You are someone’s puppet.
Suggestion: Take back control of your life and give it a purpose. Make sure that whenever you are asked to do something that it is not at the expense of your aspirations and your time. Time is precious. Don’t waste it. Reclaim it for yourself.
3. Listen to the Cassandras.
They are dream breakers.
All they want is for you not to succeed.
That makes them feel better.
Let them believe what they want. And let them rot in their miserable little comfort zone.
It took me a few years to realize that there was nothing worse than regretting not trying to do something I love.
Suggestion: Don’t listen to them. Follow your dream. Live it. It’s incredibly rewarding to build your own dream rather than building someone else’s. it may not be as big, but it will be all yours.
4. Think too much.
We think too much. And often the wrong way.
“The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it”. — Eckhart Tolle
Things are often simpler than we think. Thinking too much complicates them.
Suggestion: We live in noise. The only thing to do is to get away from it. Meditate, rejuvenate yourself by taking a walk in nature. Live in the now.
5. Negative thinking.
Thinking negatively is a survival reflex that comes from long ago. It helps us anticipate the worst. The downside is that it often prevents us from taking risks.
Suggestion: Anticipate the best. And focus on it. Take risks. A life of adventure is far better than a bland, ordinary life.
6. Not believing in yourself
Maybe the number one. It kills you. If you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect others to believe in you in return?
Not believing in yourself can be seen as the nose in the middle of your face. You lack dynamism and get stuck in a situation you hate but end up getting used to.
You have a limp hand and walk slowly towards our grave. In fact, you are already dead.
Not believing in yourself kills the potential you have within you.
Those who succeed are the ones who have the conviction to believe in themselves. They are not necessarily smarter than you. Most of the time they are total morons.
Suggestion: forgive yourself, focus on your skills, highlight a quote that motivates you and read it every day, exercise and stop whipping your back. Unless you love it.
