"Be and not seem." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
This week/series has been very enjoyable for me to dwell on and to put into words. It has truly been a challenge in verbalization and in self-examination. I have not only worked to make information easy to read, find, and understand, but I have also worked to apply the potential mentality to my own life. I can honestly say that I have learned a lot. To conclude, I want to give you 5 practical ways that will put you well on the way to reaching your full potential. This post will deal with 3 of them.
Disclaimer: Do not think that by taking these steps every once in a while that you will reach your full potential. These steps are all daily battles and resolutions and must be worked on constantly. If you do not put in the effort, you will not see the results. That is the difference between "being" and "seeming".
Step 1: Time management
The reason that most people do not reach their full potential is simply because they are too busy. Many of us work really hard and don't really get anything done or accomplished except for tiring ourselves out. Picture a treadmill.
This concept sounds incredibly backwards because only someone very foolish would work without getting anything done, right? Wrong. We get so lost in busywork that we often spend full work days actually working, but not being productive. Getting more done in less time is a great way to get closer to reaching your potential.
One simple way to manage your time better is by using a to-do list. I normally would never have preached a particular method of productivity until I actually tried this one. I don't think I will ever stop. I make my list the day beforehand so I can come into my office with my day planned out. It takes the stress off of the morning time, makes me a better steward of my employer's time, and keeps me from wasting my own time. Research time management and figure out what works best for you. I may be addressing this topic specifically in the near future.
Step 2: Monitor your brain
Being able to effectively control what goes into your brain is one of God's great gifts to man. God made your mind to be molded. He also enabled you to decide what goes in.
One thing that must be pointed out is this: Garbage in; garbage out. If you fill your brain with positive, challenging experiences, it will grow accordingly. If you fill your head with mindless negativity, you will reap that harvest as well. Decide now that you are not going to allow negativity to find its way into your head. The result will be an increased output and a better individual.
Step 3: Love yourself
I realize that this sounds completely conceited but hear me out on this one. Jesus told his followers that the second-greatest commandment of all was to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Here's the kicker. If you don't love yourself, you can't love your neighbor in the same way.
Being able to look at yourself as a developing professional will allow you to actually become one. But until you can look at yourself in the mirror and admit that you deserve to be great, you will always settle for mediocrity.
I would love to go into greater detail on each of these reasons, but that may dissuade future posts. I would be very interested to hear about other reasons you come up with. Ultimately, it's important to remember that your potential is up to you. These tips are ones that I have found to be useful but take them for what they are: My advice. Look forward to the next two practical ways in my next post. Until next time, stay classy.
-Andrew
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