What if… The potential in all of us

))Last edition, we discussed letting go of the status quo and reimagining the possibilities of your lifetime. This included thinking deeply about who you are now and who you want to be.

I know many professionals spend significant time considering how they will achieve greater levels of success. This usually entails a more impressive job title, higher remuneration and increased responsibility for growth in revenue, profit and numbers of employees. 

Yet so many individuals circle back having achieved ‘success’, feeling frustrated and lacking a true sense of fulfilment. In digging deeper, these impressive individuals discover feelings of dissatisfaction. 

It wasn’t long ago that medical and legal professions were deemed both financially rewarding as well as socially desirable. Today, I know many professionals who are frustrated in their jobs, realising these career choices may have been based on views of others, instead of whether they actually love the work. Or, the very thing which drew them to the profession in the first instance, for example performing surgery, has since diminished in terms of actual operating hours, only to be replaced with bureaucracy and administration. 

Furthermore, when calculating the hours required to indeed achieve ‘success’, the financial rewards are not so attractive when you’re consistently working 70+ hours on a good week (more like 90+ hours for some).

Never ever buy into the myth that your job is ‘just a job’. Nothing you do 40+ hours a week is just a job!

Maybe there’s another way? A different set of questions to ask yourself?

Question 1: ‘Am I reaching MY potential?’ (very different question to the typical question of ‘What does success look like in this profession?’)

I fervently believe that we are each unique. That we each have so much to offer this ever-changing world we find ourselves in. That there really is endless potential in each of us to make a difference; to make our difference.

Question 2: What if I am only scratching the surface of what I can do and who I can be?

Reflect on your response to this two-pronged question. 

Two things I know for sure –  1. You are here to make a difference and 2. Anything is possible when you put your mind to it.

Remember, whether you think you can or you can’t, you are right.

Feel free to share your thoughts and responses below.

If you think others could benefit from stepping into the arena, please share with a friend.