How To Develop Your Potentials Beyond Limitations

Make it a habit to focus on your strengths. Don't forget to include your undeveloped potential, as well. Train yourself to focus on your potential instead of your limitations. 

Now that's not to say that you should ignore your list of reasons for not doing some of the things you would like to do. 

Not at all!  But look at them from the view point of your strengths. For instance, you'd like to play basketball but you think you are too short, so you don't even try.

 
In this case, you are looking at it from the viewpoint of your limitations. Now, when you look at it from the viewpoint of your strengths, you would say, "Well, I may be pretty short to play, BUT I am fast. 

I can handle the ball well.  I have a lot of stamina.  I can't change being short, but I can refuse to let my limitations overcome my strengths." You see the difference?  Focusing on your limitations lets those limitations make your decisions for you. 

Focusing on your strengths lets YOU make the decision. To go back to our example:  when you've decided to overcome your height limitations to play basketball - something you really want to do - you will be more determined to develop your strengths to compensate. 

You will do well, because you will be doing what you really want to do and you will be determined to develop the full potential of your strengths. Very few people concentrate on fully developing any of their strengths. That's where you will have the edge. You know your true disadvantages but your determination, your singleness of purpose, will inspire you to fully develop the talents and skills you do have.

OK.  You probably have no interest in playing basketball. Then go to your assessment of yourself.  What do you have a major interest in? What do you have a natural aptitude for?  Go for it. Devote yourself to something you really like to do.  

Don't choose something just because you think you could make more money at it than you could by doing something else that you would really rather work at.You won't work to develop your full potential. 

You may start out with enthusiasm, but you will soon flag. It will be a chore to go to work.  You'll probably find yourself hating to go. It'll be difficult to work on improving your skills because you don't like what you are doing. 

You probably won't be working up to your potential. Your success will probably be limited by your growing lack of interest and your happiness will surely be affected. 

If, however, you devote yourself to something you really like to do, you'll enjoy your work, you'll be enthusiastic, and you'll probably find yourself working on improving your skills just for the sheer joy of it. You will be working to reach your full potential. 

You'll probably soon find you are making more money at this truly interesting occupation than you ever dreamed possible. And because you like what you are doing, you will be happier. When you know you are working to your full potential and you enjoy your work and begin to feel successful, you will find that self-confidence and happiness soon follow.

But, you must be realistic and honest with yourself. If you set goals that you can't possibly reach, you are setting yourself up for failure. You will make yourself frustrated and unhappy. The key here is a realistic and honest assessment of your potential. Although most people will be unnecessarily harsh in their assessments, it is easy to become too hopeful when you start breaking down barriers. 

If, for instance, you're extremely interested in and fond of music and would love to be a singer, it would be unreasonable to set a singing career as your goal if you can't sing  a note (some talents are inborn). But if you are knowledgeable about the music business and would be happy being involved in some other capacity, then it would be reasonable to pursue a career in the business. 

Be wary of making otherwise perfectly reasonable goals unattainable because of stringent time frames. When you set a goal, you will most likely set times for achieving certain steps along your way to achieving your final goal. Even if you don't set the time frames formally, you will probably have a pretty good idea of how long you are giving yourself. It's wise to sit down and formally set these goals.

 Think about it and  give yourself reasonable time to achieve them. Make a deal with yourself to view these time limits as flexible. Don't get discouraged if things don't work out as planned. Sometimes finding our place takes both time and error. All of us experience failures of one magnitude or another. The key is to view the failures as a learning experience - if nothing else, failures teach us what not to do. Have a wonderful day.