7 Steps to Maximize Your Potential

Learning to maximize your potential is simple once you understand how to approach it!

By following certain steps, you can set yourself up for success each and every day.

Studies have shown that the most successful men and women are those who can maximize their potential – not just in life as a whole – but each and every day.

It’s not just in moments of task completion but in times of rest and relaxation.

How does the speed of your day go?

Does it move so fast that sometimes, you forget all that you’ve done and accomplished?

Do you finish each week knowing you did all you were capable of doing?

Our full potential is not just related to work, but also to our relationships.

The ability to maximize your potential is directly linked with your capacity to plan, manage time, and execute tasks.

How to maximize your potential every day

We all have the same 24 hours in a day, the question is: How can we use them to fully express ourselves?

Keep reading to discover 7 easy steps to maximize your potential that will boost your happiness and productivity and help you live your best life!

#1. Remind yourself of the big picture

“I work really hard at trying to see the big picture and not getting stuck in ego. I believe we’re all put on this planet for a purpose, and we all have a different purpose…

When you connect with that love and that compassion, that’s when everything unfolds.” — Ellen DeGeneres

What’s your reason for waking up?

It’s 5 a.m., it’s cold in your bedroom, you feel great under the sheets…so why get up?

Why have the discipline to do things, even when you don’t always feel like it?

It’s so easy to not do anything, to allow yourself to be sidetracked by fleeting comforts.

But when you see the big picture, life holds a special kind of energy. 

Focus on establishing that.

Become clear about what you want your life to look like and why.

Reminding yourself of the ‘why’ is the first step towards maximizing your potential every day.

ACTION STEP: Write down 5 -7 sentences describing your big picture

What does your ideal life look like?

Then write down 30 reasons why this life is so important for you.

#2. Create a plan

“You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” — Zig Ziglar

You don’t just maximize your potential because you want to – but you must plan to.

Without a plan, it’s easy to stray from the course of getting things done that will enable us to move forward.

Try planning your entire week on Sundays.

Use this day as a day of rest and reflection as well.

Set realistic goals for the week.

This might take a while to master.

In the beginning, it’s easy to overload with a lot of tasks.

Each day, work on 3-5 things that will help you accomplish your week’s goals.

It feels good to get things done.

When you achieve this, celebrate and enjoy it!

ACTION STEP: Think about one thing you want to accomplish

Don’t overthink your choice, just pick one thing.

Break it down into as many tiny steps as possible.

Then spread those steps out throughout the week.

#3. Maximize your potential by treating time like gold

“Either you run the day or the day runs you.” — Jim Rohn

You’ve heard the clichés: once time is spent, you don’t get it back.

Oh so true!

If we have zero time management skills, 15-minute tasks can turn into 45 minutes, or even longer.

This is not just bad for work, but now time is cut short for other areas of your life, like exercise, family, or relaxation.

Become a student of time management.

Don’t just study, execute.

ACTION STEP: This week, use a timer to get work done

Also, research one time management strategy each day.

#4. Become the most positive person you know

“You’ve done it before and you can do it now.

See the positive possibilities.

Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination.” — Ralph Marston

A huge part of life is perspective.

How we see ourselves and the world will dictate how we live.

We must see ourselves in a positive, deserving light – or it would be quite difficult to maximize our potential.

Being positive isn’t a naive quality; it’s an intelligent decision in the face of conflict, confusion, and chaos.

ACTION STEP: At the end of each day, write down 10 things that went well or made you feel good

5. Do one thing at a time

“Do one thing at a time, and while doing it put your whole soul into it to the exclusion of all else.” — Swami Vivekananda

This is the part where we stop talking about what we will do, and start talking about what we will say no to.

How about putting our phone on silent, or in another room while working?

How about making a commitment to only check emails once or twice a day?

There are apps out there to block sites like Facebook for a certain amount of time, like the Google Chrome extension, Stay Focused.

There are many small things we can stop doing that constantly drain our focus and energy.

ACTION STEP: Write down your three biggest time-wasters

Own them.

When it’s time to work, keep the list in front of you as a reminder of what you will NOT do.

#6. Don’t forget to rest

“I still need more healthy rest in order to work at my best. My health is the main capital I have and I want to administer it intelligently.” — Ernest Hemingway

You can’t maximize your potential if you don’t have sufficient energy during the day.

Rest is vital and so often overlooked.  

Finding strategies to rest and relax is just as powerful as our strategies to be more productive.

Whether it’s listening to nature sounds, meditation, prayer, or reading a fictional story before bed – rest plays a key role in our mood, energy levels, metabolism, and stress management.

Recharge yourself like batteries in order to live with power!

ACTION STEP: Think about what you do before bed

Are you preparing yourself for a great night’s rest, or have you just closed your laptop?

Take 30 minutes to prepare for bed by listening to soothing music or a story.

#7. Maximize your potential by making life simpler

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” – Confucius

I once heard Dr. Wayne Dyer give a presentation on how to quit smoking.

He said:

“…that in order to smoke you have to spend a lot money on cigarettes, invest in a billion dollar company with no return on investment, ignore the idea that you are killing yourself, go into your pocket and find them, go outside and smoke it.

Some people even hide it from their kids, and then they repeat these behaviors every single day.

That’s a lot of work.

Whereas to not smoke, all you have to do is one thing: not smoke.”

Habits are so fascinating because often, we fight to keep the ones that do not serve our best selves.

We have to gain some good habits and drop the bad ones in order to maximize our potential.

For example, what if we decided the time we were going to wake up, tomorrow’s outfit, and tomorrow’s meals – the night before?

Now that small decisions are off the table, we can focus on execution instead of wasting time and energy trying to figure out which direction we need to move.

It’s the small, day-to-day decisions that can leave us feeling drained and off-balance.

This disrupts our ability to make major decisions.

ACTION STEP: Think of 3-5 small decisions you make daily, that you could make ahead of time

Focus your energy on executing those ideas so you can maximize your potential every day.

What are you doing to maximize your potential?

Is there something you do every day that helps you maximize your potential?

Is there anything you would add to this list?

Tell us in the comment section!

We would love to hear from you.