Friday Motivation: Unlocking Your Potential -- Break Free from Plateauing through the Power of Self-Honesty

I was talking with my buddy Chad and asked for his thoughts on the subject of staying stuck and plateauing, and not being honest with yourself why you aren't living up to your potential.

Here is what he had to say.

Some people are content with staying stuck and plateauing, and if that's you, that's okay. But I suspect it's not. If you're anything like most people, you want to grow, advance, and improve, right? Only, you find yourself caught in a cycle of same old, same old. "Habits hard to break, routines impossible to shake." But to be honest, it's seldom about what you're doing. It's more often about what you're thinking -- and, most importantly, what you're not being honest with yourself about.

Don't confuse this with yet another motivational speech. I'm not trying to give you a feel-good mantra to paste on your mirror. This is about looking at the man or woman in the mirror honestly, and calling yourself out. Because the first step towards any kind of real change is self-awareness. The minute you're courageous enough to admit to yourself why you aren't living up to your potential, is the minute growth becomes possible.

Now, let's address our fear of defining actual goals. I know, it can feel safer to live in the muddled middle-ground of "good enough". But setting goals isn't your enemy, it's like your GPS to the future you want. So why let fear limit your potential? Here's a powerful framing: goals aren't just about what you want to achieve, they're really about who you want to become. But pushing that aside through chronic avoidance, that's just you denying your own potential.

I get it, the idea of facing your own limitations, acknowledging your own inability to achieve perfection most of the time -- that can be scary. But giving into the fear creates a dangerous illusion, that if you can't do something perfectly then you shouldn't even try. That's garbage. And poison. Perfectionism is about an "all or nothing" mentality. Instead you should focus on saying "I did my best", and knowing that your best is more than enough. You don't need a perfect score, just a pass.

You know you want to better yourself. But you're using fear and perfectionism as an excuse, and that's defeating the very purpose, isn't it? Fear is just an emotion, a reaction influenced by a past or future event. It is not an absolute and it certainly shouldn't be the driver of your ambitions. It doesn't define you, unless you let it. Don't hand it that power. Stay in the present, and take action.

Sure, diving into hard work can seem daunting, and it might feel easier to find excuses to avoid that pain. But let's face it, that's not gonna get you where you want to be. At the end of the day, hard work does pay off -- and the sweet taste of success is far better than immediate pleasure.

You won't get anywhere with a love for immediate gratification. We live in a society where we're surrounded by instant pleasures. But remember that immediate pleasure doesn't mean lasting happiness. Short term gains can often come at a high long term cost. So if it's comfort and pleasure you're after, remember, it's most deeply satisfying when it's earned.

Lastly, you've got to practice being honest with yourself, something most people struggle with. Not because they're dishonest, but simply because they're unaware. They haven't taken the time to seriously consider what they want, who they are, and why they do what they do. It's a journey, not a destination. A process, not an end-game. And if you are constantly in the process of learning about yourself, you'll find that improvement follows naturally.

So, what will you do with these insights? You can passively listen to them, ponder them, even agree with them. But until you start putting them into action, you'll find yourself in the same spot. Don't pat yourself on the back just for understanding these common-sense principles. The real work starts when you actually put these principles into practice.

It might not be easy, but it's simple -- always remember that every great journey begins with a single step. And the sooner you take that first step, the sooner you start living your potential. Here's to being honest, setting goals, and dropping the excuses. The journey won't be easy, but it'll be worth it. Your future self will appreciate -- and be greatly blessed by -- the courage you demonstrate in the present, by even the smallest of actions to get unstuck. Don't put it off, get started on a better you. Now.