Are You Holding Yourself Back from Your Potential?

Each of us is capable of more. More effort, more consistency, more accountability, or more of whatever else is holding us back. This does not mean we should never give ourselves a break though. Sometimes we also need more rest or more balance in our lives in order to reach our full potential. The key to overcoming the limitations we have set for ourselves is to first recognize that a change needs to happen and then to follow through with it.

We are often the biggest obstacle to our own success. We doubt ourselves, get overwhelmed by the amount of pressure that we put on ourselves, or we get comfortable in our own ways. And instead of accepting the role that we play in holding ourselves back from our potential, we often look for something or someone else to blame. This is having an external locus of control. It feels better when it’s not our fault that we aren’t where we want to be.

However, true transformation comes from adopting an internal locus of control, which is the belief that we are responsible for our thoughts, actions, and ultimately our outcomes. We cannot control everything around us, but we can control how we respond to our environment. This is empowering because we start to understand that we have the ability to make a difference in our own lives. We are capable of great things if we have the discipline to go after what we want.

Abraham Maslow once said, “If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.” Stop holding yourself back, stop making excuses, and start living into your potential. You might surprise yourself about how much more you can achieve and how much happier you’ll be. Don’t wait for tomorrow to make a change; take action today.

-Meghan Slaughter