I was on a forum yesterday and someone asked Do You Maximize Your Potential?, I responded that I am struggling to and that is what my blog is essentially about. They assumed I had tips on how to do this, which until now I did not, but it did inspire me to write this post.
First off here is my take on what Maximizing Your Potential means.To me, it is not necessarily about getting the best job or earning the most money or aquiring the best things, it is about being the best at being you. This is what I have learned:Don't hide your light under a bushel, even though we fear success far more than failure, it does not serve us.Do not be afraid to show love, kindness, gratitude, even if it is not returned.Have faith, in something, anything, just Believe.Get your priorities straight and stick to them.Focus on, and make time for, your passion.Decide on your values and live by them, no matter how hard that may be.Be your authentic self, all the time.
I am no guru, but over the years I have read many many books on self improvement and though many were simply full of hot air, I did find quite a few that had nuggets of gold in them, mainly practices that actually do help in one way or another, most of which I need to get back to doing, so here is my
Nugget List:
by Julia Cameron author of The Artists Way has the practice of Morning Pages, write 3 full pages of gunk as soon as you awake to get it out of your system. You can also find the occasional nugget of wisdom in these pages. I did do this for many years and Ifound at the very least it gave me a place to rant, bitch, complain and whine, which cleared my head for the rest of the day and gave my poor husband a break. It also helped me find "problem" areas, things I kept going on about numerous times and helped me clarify my priorities for the day.
Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach is a a wonderful book full of many great excercises. The nugget in this one is a Gratitude Journal, everyday, write down five things you are greatful for, be they big or small. This helps one stay positive, reminds one of that there is a silver lining on every cloud, that things could be worse and that no matter how bad things get, life is good.
Surprisingly in John Gray's Mars and Venus Together Forever: A Practical Guide to Creating Lasting Intimacy there is a tidbit about decharging. In the book he suggests, once a day, directing all the bad and negative energy from the day, into a bowl of water and then disposing of that energy down the sink etc. Though I use a rock instead, I found this really helped even when I am too full of energy and need to ground.
Zen Habits, which I already have listed in my Blogroll has an abundance of articles on how to organize and live more productively, all of which are invaluable.
And last but not least Fly Lady will help you get your living space up to snuff to allow you time to do all the other things you should be doing.
Labels: Self Improvement