UNLOCK
YOUR POTENTIAL in 6 easy steps
Your life has endless possibilities, but are you tapping into
them? We’ve identified six steps to creating the life you’ve
always dreamed about. Follow these easy exercises and change your
life for the better...
TO MAKE CHANGES IN YOUR LIFE, YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT ANYTHING
IS POSSIBLE... PROGRAM YOUR BRAIN TO FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE
1 Identify your personal happiness trigger
Life isn’t meant to be difficult. Discovering what makes
you happy is the key to fulfilling your potential and actually requires
very little effort. When you live a life that revolves around your
passions, it’s inevitable that you’ll feel fulfilled.
GET-HAPPY EXERCISE
• When did you last feel really enthusiastic and happy about
something? Was it when you were learning something fresh, such as
a new language? Or when you were helping out a friend in need? Was
it when you were surrounded by people you care about? Or trekking
through the woods with only a map for company?
• Identify your three happiest times and write down exactly
what it was about each situation that made you feel so good. Was
it the satisfaction you got from helping others, or the feeling
of achievement from reaching a goal? Were your surroundings or the
people the most important part of your happiness?
• Now that you’ve identified your top three ‘happy
moments’, take one action to support each of these in the
next 28 days. So if you love to learn, book a course in something
you’ve always been interested in. If you love to support others,
offer your help to a charitable organisation. If you love to feel
connected, arrange a weekly family get-together or commit to a regular
night out with your closest friends. If you love adventure, book
a trip to somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit or join
a mountaineering club.
FINDING THE KEY Can’t think of anything that lights your fire?
Try this: switch off the TV for a month and leave work at 5.30pm
every night. Each night try something new, whether it’s a
new recipe, a new route home from work, going to a book reading
or a new exercise class, If you want to discover what life can offer
you, then get off that sofa. You won’t find out what floats
your boat by watching other people’s lives on TV.
2 Discover what's holding you back
The way you feel about yourself determines everything you do. These
thought patterns were formed when you were a child, so they’ve
been around for a while! The good news, however, is you’re
a grown-up now and able to make a more accurate assessment of yourself,
based on adult logic. Remember that who you are and the life you
have now is a direct result of the way you think. If you don’t
change the pattern of your thoughts, your future will look exactly
the same.
BREAK-FREE EXERCISE
• Ask yourself, ‘What do I get out of these behavioural
habits?’ Does working long hours allow you to excuse yourself
from leading a fulfilled life? Does arguing with your partner guarantee
you get constant attention? Or do you find it difficult to say no
to demanding friends and family because you want to be liked by
everybody?
• Write down three benefits you’ll gain by changing
your thought patterns. Now write a statement to reinforce your new
belief, whether it’s to commit to finishing work on time every
day or admitting that it’s more important to be happy than
right. Practise this new habit over and over again: with constant
practice it will soon become automatic.
• Be patient. Your bad habit took a while to learn; you won’t
learn your new, better habit overnight.
FINDING THE KEY Give yourself a new label. Instead of being ‘lazy’,
or ‘a procrastinator’, label yourself ‘creative’
or ‘adventurous’. This is your first step to fulfilling
your own prophecy.
3 Confront what you're afraid of
You may think fear is caused by a specific situation, but it’s
far more likely to be linked to your state of mind. A first date
can sometimes feel as scary as a visit to the dentist, but it’s
not the prospect of making small talk for three hours that brings
you out in a sweat; it’s more likely to be the possibility
of rejection at the end. Before doing something you feel afraid
of, or are uncomfortable with, you need to assess if there’s
any real danger or whether it’s simply fear of the unknown
that’s keeping you safely in your comfort zone.
FACE-YOUR-FEARS EXERCISE
• Think of a scary situation you’re facing right now
and write down a list of all your fears. How old do you feel when
you experience these fears? Are they real, or are these feelings
from the past and irrelevant to what’s happening right now?
• Ask yourself, ‘What’s the worst thing that can
happen in each situation?’ If you can handle the worst-case
scenario, then you have nothing to be scared of. Only when you see
your fears for what they are will you be able to sort out fact from
fiction.
FINDING THE KEY Take one risk a week. Plan to have at least one
new experience that feels a little out of your comfort zone. With
each action you survive (and perhaps even enjoy!), you’ll
raise your self-esteem and will have conquered another fear.
4 Decide who's in charge of your life
Whenever you say the word ‘should’, you’re living
your life based on someone else’s agenda. You’re also
giving away the power to make the choice that feels right for you.
TAKING-CONTROL EXERCISE
• Make a list of all the things you think you ‘should’
be doing. Do any of these sound familiar? ‘I should stick
at this job and make the best of it.’ ‘I should be married
by the age of 30.’ ‘I should go to the gym five times
a week.’
• Who is telling you this is the right thing to do? Who thinks
you should stick at a job you dislike? Who said you should be married
at a certain age? How long are you going to let your mother, your
friends or the media run your life?
• Now, replace each ‘should’ with ‘I could’,
’I choose’, ’I decide’ or ‘I want’.
See how this hands the responsibility back to you? Saying ‘I
could cook my partner a meal every night’ gives you the power
to make that decision, It’s totally your choice. And if it’s
not right for you, you can choose to drop it.
FINDING THE KEY This month, do one thing each week that’s
unashamedly selfish. Do it for you because you deserve it. Write
a list of things you haven’t allowed yourself to do (or to
have) because they seemed just too selfish. Now do them!
5 Focus on the good stuff
People who fail in life have already pictured themselves doing
so. They see the difficulty in every situation and decide it’s
impossible before they’ve given themselves a chance to succeed.
If your head is full of past failures, you’re never going
to believe anything else can happen.
CONFIDENCE-BOOSTER EXERCISE
• Start re-programming your brain to focus on the positive.
Spend 30 minutes running through your past in your mind and scan
for the times when you were your most successful.
• Now make a mental film of the best bits and press the play
button every time you need a confidence boost. This focusing exercise
will expand and emphasise your achievements, helping you to feel
confident in future situations.
FINDING THE KEY Before you go to sleep, or on your journey home,
write down any personal victories you achieved that day, however
small. Made it on time for work? Caught up with friends? Write it
down to remind you how great your life is.
6 Don’t limit yourself
You probably have no idea how severely you limit what’s possible
in your life by making assumptions. Every day we put blocks in the
way of achieving what we want. From ‘I’ll never get
the promotion’ to ‘I’m too old to go back to college’,
these are hurdles we’ve created to stop ourselves achieving
our goals.
PUSH-THE-BOUNDARIES EXERCISE
• The next time you think something is impossible, ask yourself
whether this assumption is based on fact. Do you really know that’s
true? You may find there are five people older than you on your
course, for example. Your boss may know of opportunities you’re
not aware of in your company.
• To make changes in your life, you have to start believing
anything is possible. Make a list of the many choices available
to you and start from there.
FINDING THE KEY Remember that even if you get knocked back, that’s
only one person’s opinion. Keep pursuing your dreams and look
for new ways or avenues to achieve them.
(c) Liz Wilde 2004 Back
to Features |
