Why focus on being great?
Updated: Feb 22
What does fulfilling our potential mean and why does it matter?
My view of life is that we get one chance to truly live it to the fullest and to make the biggest impact on the people/communities around us. Whether you agree with this or not, I am undeniably certain that we're not on this planet to live passively, to feed our impulses, to think, speak and act unconsciously or to chase one thrill after another in order to fill any void(s) within us.
Not even the most cynical person on Earth would argue that the human experience has to be anchored in suffering. Yes, suffering and struggle can lead to some very valuable lessons, but we shouldn't look to create more of them. Fulfilling our potential has to do with experiencing the beauty that life offers, learning from the challenges and obstacles, and committing to identifying who we truly want to be and what kind of impact we want to have. These first steps are just as important as executing our potential. To fulfil our potential we have to create an awareness within us that will enable us to get a feel for who we want to be, and encourage us to maintain dedication to being the best version of ourselves; the version which will allow us to live an enhanced life and, at the same time propel us to enhancing the lives of others.
In short, fulfilling our potential is all about being the very best that we can be (in every pillar of our life, including family, friendships, relationships, work, health, fitness, finances, mindfulness, contribution to society etc.), and it matters - I'd say it matters more than anything because it sets us with a real tangible purpose that we can work on and track every single day of our lives. What's better than optimising the quality of our life, adding peace, embedding stillness, working on ourselves and being there for our people as they go through their journey? Exactly. There's nothing better. Really, there isn't.
This is what life is all about, and embracing our respective processes isn't meant to be a corny cliché, it's a perspective that can be turned into a mindset for those who seek to improve every area of their LIFE.
Personally, I'm obsessed with being better than I was a decade ago, a year ago, or a week ago. I track everything, from hydration, diet, sleep, training, finances, friendships, the quality of work I produce, the time I spend on the things that matter most to me, the support I offer my loved ones and acquaintances, the impact I have on my community in terms of how often I recycle for example or how much I contribute my time/resources, my ambitions etc. I have a list for every single point above because I really really want to do the best I can in order to: a) make the most progress and b) support the people around me.
This is what life is all about. A mix of fun, adventure, discipline, ambition and humility.
D