If you were to plant a seed for an oak tree, you would know that the seed has the potential to become a strong, powerful tree given enough time and nurturing. And when the seed grew into a sapling, you would know that it was not done growing and was only in the middle of a lifelong process. Our souls are like the seeds of a tree. They hold endless potential for growth and transformation. The difference is that we don’t always see or understand our own potential and often fail to understand where we are in our process.
Our souls are limitless, but we often underestimate what we can do and what we can become. Furthermore, we get down on ourselves when we haven’t reached certain goals or milestones, failing to see that we are still in the middle of growing. Understanding our limitless potential and taking steps towards realizing it through action is a necessary and life-changing experience.
Here are 4 tips to start realizing your potential:
1. Understand that your soul is endlessly greater than you can imagine.
It’s hard to envision the enormity of our potential from our limited view of the world. While we know an oak seed will become an oak tree and an apple seed will become an apple tree, we don’t know what form our potential will take. It’s impossible to know what we are ultimately meant for - we can only know where we are right now.
The good news is that you don’t need to know what you can become to understand that your soul’s potential is endlessly greater than anything you can imagine. You don’t need to know who you can become before you start becoming it. It just takes one clear understanding: what you came to this world to do is endlessly greater than where you are right now.
2. Resist the urge to judge yourself too harshly. You are in the middle of a lifelong process.
The thought that we have the potential to do so much more than what we are currently doing can actually be discouraging if we aren’t careful. It can remind us that we are so far from where we are ultimately meant to be that it can feel impossible to ever get there. The truth is that where we are right now is just the middle of the process.
A seedling knows its potential and never stops growing, even if it takes years to become a full-grown tree. You, too, are in the process of growing. Avoid coming down on yourself or judging yourself for not doing enough. Embrace this great paradox: on the one hand, who you are and where you are right now is perfect, and on the other hand, you are meant to be endlessly greater than who you are in this moment. No matter how far you’ve come and how deeply you’ve transformed, there is always another place to grow to.
3. Focus on today. Avoid dwelling on yesterday or worrying about tomorrow.
One of the greatest things holding us back from becoming the great trees we are meant to become is that we focus too much on yesterday and tomorrow and not enough on today. Our pain, anger, or sadness from the past or our fears and anxiety for the future can prevent us from making positive progress today.
Look at your emotions as indicators. We naturally want to feel good and experience good things, but our negative feelings also have a purpose. If you feel sad or unmotivated, it’s your soul trying to tell you something. Look at it and try to recognize what’s behind the emotion. Practice living with the consciousness that yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not a guarantee. The work we need to do today cannot be put off to tomorrow. You are here now. Live for today with a singular focus.
4. Take positive action (even small steps) every day.
Great ideas are a very small percentage of the success they can bring – the success lies in the execution of them. Without action, an idea is just a thought. Unlike the oak tree that will naturally continue to grow, we have to push and strive for our growth. We need to take action to reach our potential.
Once you’ve accepted your limitless potential, the next step is to start chasing it. That doesn’t mean doing it perfectly all the time, but rather consistently putting in the effort. Making huge changes all at once can be overwhelming. Try breaking tasks into small steps that are actionable and achievable.
Action is the key to greater spiritual fulfillment. If you long for more joy and more blessings, do more! Do more than you think you are capable of. It’s not only in the doing but also in doing things that you think are beyond your reach. Both spiritually and physically, it is that movement that allows the flow of Light, blessings, and joy.
The sad truth is that most people don’t ever think about the enormity of their potential or what they are meant to manifest. Know that you come from a great seed. The tree you are right now is only a sapling of the potential tree you will become. Own your potential and start taking positive steps towards manifesting it today.
