We all have to work towards fulfilling our potential. All of us have that as one of our life’s purposes, whether we consciously recognize it or not. And yet, many of us are stuck thinking small. We get scared. Unfortunately, thinking small will not allow you to meet your fullest potential.

Five years ago, I was a small thinker. I got up, went to work, drank beer most evenings in front of the television and managed to make it to the gym a few times a week. I did not like what I did all day, I did not enjoy the people I worked with, and I was not using any of my unique abilities, my heart, or my core passion to get me through the day. And yet, I do not think even once it clicked it my head that I could be doing more. Inside I felt a huge desire to help people. What was wrong with me? I did not know what I did not know, stuck thinking small.

Small thinking is a spiritual problem. To fight small thinking is to welcome that part of yourself that tells you “you can not do more,” or even worse, “you already do enough”. These are lies, lies, lies. The worst place to be is where you are completely in the black from both of those views, as I was, and have no view at all on your personal growth. The good news: we can free ourselves.

Step one to free yourself of this constriction is to become aware of your small thinking. Step two is to get to work thinking big. Step three, take action. Step two and three have to be done over and over again. Sometimes when you’re down on yourself or full of yourself or way to busy thinking about yourself, you have to go back to step one as well. The first tenet of thinking big is including other people in the scheme somehow.

Five years ago, I got fired, and then I woke up from my self-centred world. I suppose I could call it a ‘miracle firing’, because the universe was certainly committing an act of mercy when it let me loose from that job. I never chose to work there, I made no choice at all and got life’s “take what we give you a discount deal”. After I got let go, I dreamed a little. I realized I was not helping anyone, and in most cases was doing a great job of harm myself. So I set to work getting aligned with that image in my head that I told myself was me, but somehow she did not manifest in my life at all. I began making conscious choices to allow myself to become more aligned. And that required me to think big. I had to think beyond just my bills because there’s more to life than just making it.

So let’s start there and admit to ourselves that somewhere in some way, we’re not playing big. All of us could be more. Next, have a little brainstorm session. Sit down with a sheet of paper for at least ten minutes, allow yourself to be that kid again, and think about what you want to be “when you grow up”. Just imagine what life could be. Then, when the ten minutes is up, come back to your current reality and do the reality check. Are you kind of close? Do you see any of these elements in your life at all? If ‘wealthy’ is on your list, are you even kind of financial savvy? Do you have a budget, savings, an investment plan? If ‘change the world for the better’ is on there, ask yourself, are you really giving all you can? Are you putting yourself out there and really pushing for change? This is not a time for feeling bad about yourself. Just notice what you see. Next, you can make an action plan.

To fulfil your full potential, you have to continue to be bigger and bigger each year. You have to keep growing. Potential by its very nature is a moving target. But working, chasing, and wanting to be more, being brave and actively working towards it means … Congratulations!

You’re thinking big.

Featured Image: the fix
Source by Dana Krals