Soar to New Heights: 7 Tips for Reaching Your Potential

Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do.

Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors.

Try to be better than yourself.

William Faulkner

If your desire is to live the life of your dreams, it is necessary to concentrate on what you want and keep working toward it. Accept that you will experience periods of time when you lose your focus and it becomes challenging to keep pursuing your goals and dreams. But, are you finding that it is a constant battle trying to give 100% in everything you do? How can you stay motivated and continue to work up to your potential?

Here are 7 strategies to help you soar:

1. Make it count. Make every moment count. Recognize that if you are spending your time doing something, you may as well be learning as much as you can along the way. Stay fully connected to the task at hand. Immerse yourself in each activity to make the most of it.

• Think about a task at work that you dislike, such as filing. Even though filing may be boring and time-consuming, it is still important that you do a good job and put forth maximum effort. Prove to yourself and others that you can excel at even the most mundane of tasks.


• Direct your energies toward living in the moment and working up to your full potential.

2. Excel! Think about average versus excellence. Reflect on the difference between performing a mediocre job as opposed to an outstanding job. Which way of working makes you feel more confident about your performance? Strive for excellence in everything you do.

3. Begin with the end in mind. Ask yourself, “If I try as hard as I can, what might happen in this situation?” According to Stephen Covey, beginning with the end of your project in mind is a wonderfully proactive way to set yourself up for success. Identify the “end” that you seek. Then, design a specific step-by-step plan in order to achieve it.

4. Be positive. Positive thoughts will make you feel more content and increase your chance of success.

• Take a moment to consider the alternative. Is it possible to work toward your potential if your thoughts are riddled with negativity?


• Choose positive thinking to achieve your highest heights.

5. Be optimistic when approaching a task. If you ever think, “I hate doing these monthly reports because they take forever and a day,” then the report will probably indeed take a long time to complete.

• When you have a pessimistic attitude, you often will live up (or down) to it.


• Instead, be optimistic and put forth your very best efforts. Then perhaps that task will not be so horribly bad after all.


• Perhaps it will help you if you set realistic limits on your performance. For example, if a tasks usually takes you 4 hours to complete, don’t try to finish it in 2. This will help you to focus your efforts and get the job done.

6. Bite-size pieces. Set smaller objectives toward accomplishing larger goals. Avoid getting overwhelmed by creating short-term objectives. For example, if you want to earn a college degree, but it seems overwhelming, just start by taking one class at a time.

• Think about the process. Referring back to the example of a college degree, you start by taking one course, then completing a semester of classes, and then finishing each year of college until you earn your degree.


• By setting small, manageable objectives, you will be on a positive path toward your goals and you will be able to see your forward progress along the way.

7. Celebrate your successes. This is something that most of us do not do enough of. When you acknowledge your efforts, you will be inspired to achieve at high levels. The more you accomplish the more success you will experience.

Make the most of your life by working toward your fullest potential. When you use a few of these techniques, you will find yourself on top of the world.

Your potential is endless!

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