I love Disney, I love the magic it brings into my life and the way I instantly regress into the innocence and wonder of childhood when watching a Disney movie. All my troubles fade away and there’s always some deeper message in the film that reminds me of a simple Truth. Walt Disney’s creation has brought love, happiness and inspiration to generations across the world. I couldn’t even begin to grasp the ripples that have been sent out into the world in terms of the lives he has touched. Thank you Walt Disney, the world is definitely a better place because of your contribution..
Now imagine a world without Disney 
. This could easily have happened if Walt Disney didn’t follow his dream. Imagine if he was scared of what people would think of him enough to give up and get himself a ‘real job’ . I shudder to think and so glad it never happened!
Inside of all of us is hidden potential dying to get out and be expressed. Some of us know it’s there but can’t seem to unleash this potential despite trying.
Here are 5 reasons you’re may not be unleashing your potential and what to do about it:
1.You don’t know how to be happy
This one underpins everything else and if it’s not dealt with will sabotage your efforts until you do. For many people allowing yourself to be happy is quite simply, outside of their comfort zone. Think about it, what are you more familiar with? Struggling, trying and wanting or allowing, letting and having? You get so used to this that when something good happens easily you feel suspicious, guilty or anything other than fully accepting and appreciating it as the way your life is meant to be. A lot of us have been raised to feel guilty about feeling good and that guilt will always find a way of punishing you and stopping your happiness.
What to Do: Don’t expect to fully embrace happiness straight away, it will feel alien to your body to just be in a state of happiness if it’s not used to that. Practice trying on happiness bit by bit. Become conscious of when the good stuff happens and watch yourself around it. Watch how you think or do things to stop the good feeling and get curious about it. It’s hard to keep doing it if you can see it.
You’re scared to be seen
Let’s face it, if you’re playing bigger and unleashing your potential you will be seen by more people. If you are seen by more people you will likely receive more praise as well as more critical feedback. And who wants to be judged negatively? Maybe you don’t want to be seen as a show-off, a big head or make anyone else feel inferior about not playing as big a game as you. If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a million times…
“Your playing small doesn’t serve the world” Marianne Williamson
You cannot make anyone feel inferior, if they feel inferior it’s because they also have something inside of them they are not unleashing and you are just reminding them of that.
What To Do: Be an example, to paraphrase Marianne Williamson ‘shine your light and give someone else the permission to do the same.’
You don’t like uncertainty
There’s no doubt about it, unleashing your potential will take you to new, never before travelled territories. Navigating this new terrain will take some getting used to and take you outside of your comfort zone, for sure. But this is where growth happens, outside of your comfort zone. You know what’s inside your comfort zone because you are living it, if you want something you do not currently have you’re going to find it out there, in the new terrain. It will hurt, you will make mistakes but you will come out the other side in a more expanded place than where you are now.
How much do you like where you are now? Do you like it more than where you would like to be? When you stay where you are, you are in effect saying that’s where you want to stay, which is fine if that’s what you want.
What To Do: Keep your eyes on the prize, it’s the process that you’re most scared of not the outcome. Keep putting one foot in front of the other when outside of your comfort zone and embrace it all. It’s the person you are growing into through the experiences that will attract what you want to you.
You don’t want to make mistakes
Mistakes are a vital part of the process and if you aren’t making them, then you’re not trying enough because that’s how you learn. This is classic fear of failure and since failure is a part of success, this is really fear of success.
If you don’t want to make mistakes, you are probably very hard on yourself when you do and are trying to avoid the chastising you give yourself.
What To Do: Next time you make a mistake or see someone else make a mistake, listen out for your inner chatter. What are you saying to yourself? Hear how you judge yourself or others for it. This is what’s holding you back but knowing it is half the job done. You’ve identified the voice; you are now at choice as to whether you answer to it.
You’re overwhelmed by it
Your potential is unlimited and because of the vastness of this boundless potential it can be overwhelming. The good news is that you don’t have to do it all in one go or do it all now. Sometimes when I get a whiff of my own potential it scares the life out of me. However, with every step you take, it will reveal itself to you more and more. Who you are now is not who you will be in a couple of years time so don’t worry about comprehending it all now, in truth you don’t need to. Just keep taking the next step in front of you that feels right in your heart not your mind. The overwhelm comes from your current mind, that is not the same mind you will have as you unleash your potential. Don’t take it too seriously, it just wants to know what’s going on.
What To Do: Remember you probably don’t need to do as much as you think you do. Your potential will come from a partnering with life not fighting against it. Use the overwhelm as a cue that you are trying to do it all alone or drop into it and feel what’s really there.
Related posts:
I help spiritually conscious professionals and business owners *shine* and unleash their potential without selling their soul.