10 Ways to reach your Full Potential

Posted on February 03, 2025 by Kelly Labrecque, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.

The Meaning of ‘Full Potential’:

Your full potential isn’t a destination, it’s a path. It’s a journey of liberation – from your own limitations and limitations that others (often with good intentions) put upon you. It takes patience, courage, self-awareness and a whole lot of grit.

If you were at the Iffley Road Track in Oxford, England at 6:10pm on May 6th 1954 you would have been among the few lucky spectators to witness a great moment of human potential. It was a chilly spring evening with a crosswind blowing across the track. Earlier it had rained and the ground was still wet. At 6:10pm the gun fired and what happened next is history. Roger Bannister, a 25 year old medical student who went against conventional training methods and developed his own training regimen, ran a mile in less than 4 minutes (3 minutes 59.4 seconds). Not only did he fulfil his personal dream, but proved that it was possible for humans to break the greatly contested barrier of the 4-minute mile.

What Bannister accomplished wasn’t a result of lucky coincidence, nor was it raw talent. In fact, early in his running career he had had an ungainly walk and had barely made Oxford’s 3rd track team. What he did have was a formula for success. What follows are the building blocks for your own winning strategy – you too can make the impossible possible!

Build Your Foundation First:

In 1943 American psychologist Abraham Maslow published a paper “A theory of Human Motivation” in the journal Psychological Review. In this paper he described his popular “Hierarchy of needs model”

According to Maslow – if we want to get to the top of the pyramid and fulfil our full potential, we’ve got to build a solid base first.

Physical Security:

The first two blocks relate to physical security. It’s pretty difficult to consider running a sub-4 minute mile if you haven’t got enough food to eat or are struggling with poor health.

Emotional Security:

The third block in the pyramid relates to emotional security. A need to belong is a critical survival mechanism that keeps us safe and integrated into the family unit as a child. As an adult, while we no longer need the physical safety that family offers, we are still social animals and the feeling of belonging critical to our mental wellbeing.

Environment:

An environment that is rich in resources is another key factor. Roger Bannister was a medical student with access to information on human physiology and friends/colleagues he was able to share his ideas with. Having access to information and resources to help us fulfill our potential is a critical component of success.

Mindset:

When the basic needs of physical and emotional security are fulfilled (for the most part at least) and you have access to critical information and resources – the final two blocks of Maslow’s pyramid relate to mindset. Mindset is often the highest mountain to climb when it comes to reaching our full potential. When Bannister cracked the 4 minute mile, he also broke through a psychological barrier, providing a vision of possibility that allowed other runners to follow in his footsteps. What are your internal obstacles to reaching your full potential?

Ways to Reach Your Full Potential:

1. Develop a growth mindset vs a fixed mindset
American psychologist, Dr Carol Dweck’s research shows that embracing challenges, focusing on effort over outcome and having a belief that you can grow and improve are critical components of reaching your full potential. You can grow a growth mindset! Start by recording and celebrating your small wins. Work with a coach and/or therapist to accelerate this shift.

2. Combine reflection and action
Action and reflection, combined, build momentum. Turbo-charge this process by working with a coach or an accountability partner.

3. Focus on the big picture
What are the primary questions that drive your life? Unhappy with where you’re at? The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your questions. Make it a habit to step back and reassess.

4. Time management
Are you a time-master or a time-slave? ‘Not enough time’ is one of the biggest obstacles for reaching your full potential. Good news – time mastery can be learned! Check out David Crenshaw’s course on the fundamentals of time management.

5. Develop goals
In addition to your “To do” list create a “To be” list. Imagine you’ve already achieved your goal, in what way would it change you? Which of your strengths would you have had to leverage to get there? Visualize yourself as this new, improved version of yourself. Let this image guide your actions in the present moment.

6. Big Dreams, small steps
James Clear in his book “Atomic Habits” outlines the power 1% changes that accumulate over time. Take an inventory of your micro-habits (things you do each day that take 30 seconds or less). Which ones support your goals? Which ones are working against you? If you were to take a small step towards your big dream – what micro-habit could you create?

7. Don’t reinvent the wheel
Has someone already done what you want to do? If so, make it your business to learn their blueprint for success. Being willing to learn from the mistakes of others takes humility and an open mind but the payoff can be exponential.

8. Practice discipline
In Angela Duckworth’s book “Grit” her research shows that persistence and discipline unequivocally trump raw talent. Block off time in your calendar to regularly work towards your goals and reflection time for strategizing the best way forward.

9. Accept failure with self compassion
No matter how we try to frame it, failure isn’t fun. Failures are an inevitable part of the journey towards your full potential. When they happen, try speaking to yourself as you would a close friend. Not only will you be able to pick yourself up and continue the journey sooner – you will be more likely to take brave steps that will move you forward faster.

10. Take time to recharge
A journey towards your full potential is a marathon not a sprint. In fact, it’s something you’ll be working towards your whole life and the finish line of life isn’t something to rush towards! Speaking of extending your life expectancy – if living a long life is part of your peak-potential-plan, then don’t neglect sleep. Research shows that sleep is critical for memory function, learning, reproductive health and avoiding cognitive decline with age. If you want to scare yourself into sleeping more – check out Matthew Walker’s nightmare-inducing TED talk “Sleep is your Superpower”.

What skills do I need to reach my full potential?

Imagine you are setting out on a long journey. You have a great map and an operational compass – but what supplies would you need to bring with you? The following is a list of skills (all learnable and growable) that will sustain you on the road:

● Collaboration

While Roger Bannister was considered a ‘lone wolf’ due to his unconventional training methods and lack of a traditional coach. He was far from alone – he was aided by friends Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway who acted as pace-makers. If you are interested in learning more on the power of collaboration and how it can super-charge your own path to success – check out Sean Achor’s book “Big Potential”.

● Leadership

As you enter the dizzying heights of your personal ionosphere you will find yourself wandering down paths less travelled. Just as Bannister created his own strategic plan and rallied people to his cause – you too will need to leverage your leadership skills to share your vision and bring people along for the ride. Every great leader has a leadership development plan, what’s yours? Work with a coach and/or do a leadership skills assessment to take stock of your current leadership strengths and areas of development. Map out a plan for continuous improvement.

● Productivity

What’s your silver bullet? The Pareto principle states that 80% of results come from 20% of activities. Can you skew this even further in your favor? Tim Ferriss has made it his life’s ambition to master the Pareto principle. If he’s done it, so can you. For extra inspiration, pop over to his podcast or check out his book “The 4 hour work week”.

● Mindfulness

It’s a common myth that mindfulness requires you sit down in the lotus-position and stop thinking. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mindfulness simply requires you to be present in the moment. Mindfulness does not require that you stop thought but that you observe your thoughts with patience, openness and non-judgement. Mindfulness training makes us more present and focused so we can better see and take advantage of opportunities.
 
● The Scientific Method

Develop a scientific rigor as you reach for your full potential. Take yourself seriously, log your progress, what are your markers of success? What you measure, you can improve.

● Humour

Lastly but not leastly – take yourself seriously, but not too seriously! Remember, this is a lifelong journey so make it fun. Find a question that inspires you along your path such as “what would make this more awesome?” or “how could this be more fun?” – ask yourself these questions (or one of your own making) on a regular basis. Someone once said that laughs are like wild mushrooms – you need to hunt for them but they are well worth the effort. Make it your practice to hunt out those things that make you laugh, enjoy life’s wonderful adventure!

As Roger Bannister headed for the starting block he was following his own path – there was a crosswind blowing that day, but he was walking into a headwind of cultural-disbelief. Despite this, he dared to believe he could win. With courage and determination, he stepped up to the starting block ready to change the world. What do you dare to believe?