What are you capable of?
If you did your very best every day, worked as hard as you could, what would you be capable of being, doing, creating and having?
What is your potential?
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At a minimum, we can probably agree that there is a huge gap between where you are right now & your potential.
This weekend I read a quote from billionaire investor Warren Buffett that really inspired me.
The most important investment you can make is in yourself. Very few people get anything like their potential horsepower translated into the actual horsepower of their output in life. Potential exceeds realization for many people…The best asset is your own self. You can become to an enormous degree the person you want to be.
Most of us haven’t even begun to tap into our potential.
I am not suggesting that you have to make the absolute best choice in every situation every day, but I am suggesting that you can get so much more out of your life.
You can be happier. Healthier. Stronger. Fitter. Wealthier. Kinder.
But we have to make that more than idea. We have to make it a practice. A pursuit.
How can you invest in yourself?
How can you invest in your potential?
What would it look like to invest in that every day? To invest in the version of yourself you are capable of being? The version of your life you have the power to create?
Through your choices, how can you invest in your potential?
Through your words, how can you invest in your potential?
Through your actions, how can you invest in your potential?
Your thoughts?
Your relationships?
What can you do today to raise your standards?
What can you do today to create a life that reflects your potential?
How can you pursue your potential?
I took some time this morning to answer some of these questions and I’m happy to share my answers with you.
To step into my potential, I need to resist distractions & temptations. The things that anchor me to mediocrity aren’t worth it – television, social media, online news stories.
I can step into my potential by having a clear focus for the day that goes beyond tasks. Yes, there are tasks to do and I will do them, but stepping into my potential isn’t about crossing items off a to-do list.
Productivity isn’t the path to my potential.
I have to push. I have to strive. I have to reach.
But first, I have to be clear on where I’m going. I have to know where there’s work to be done.
I haven’t reached my potential in terms of happiness.
I haven’t reached my potential in terms of health & fitness.
I haven’t reached my financial potential.
I haven’t reached my business potential.
All this work won’t be done today, but the fact remains: to reach this potential, I have to raise my standards and step out of my comfort zone. How can I do that today? What are three things I can do today to raise my standards?
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I will do a 24 hour fast. Today that means I will eat at 7:30pm but not before then. This isn’t about weight loss, it’s about commitment, follow through, discipline and mental toughness.
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I will go for a long walk in the cold weather with my phone on airplane mode. No music, no email, no podcasts. Intentionally slowing down. This is absolutely out of my comfort zone.
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I will invite people to a party in my new tiny home.
….
You guys might read these daily objectives and think they sound easy but understand that “stretching” is different for everyone.
I know I can be more committed and mentally tough. This impromptu 24-hour fast, decided upon only as I was journaling, helps me raise my mental standards.
I often create overwhelm and anxiety by trying to do too many things at once. I check my phone when I’m writing. I stop what I’m doing to respond to an email or a comment on Instagram. I check my phone during workout warmups. I am certain I can be more peaceful & focused by teaching myself to avoid the trap of always having to be doing 5 things. Taking a long walk in the cold without “doing” something else streches me.
I am an introvert. I talk myself out of making connections and letting people into my world. Hosting a party and extending invitations stretches me and moves me towards the life I want to create with a close network of friends and family.
There’s a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote I love & am encouraged by.
The mind, once stretched, never returns to it’s original dimensions.
This is true of ourselves in general. As we stretch, we grow. We improve. We break through what we previously perceived as a limit and learn that we are capable of more. When we know we are capable of more, we create more.
Every time I push out of my comfort zone, I grow. I won’t retreat. I will keep pushing.
Will you? How? What will you do today?