Episode #55: The Gatekeeper of Your Potential

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

What keeps the door closed or opens the door to your potential? Your AMBITION!

Today we talk about what setting an ambition is?

Why people avoid setting new ambitions?

How this limits our potential and growth and what do do to get started?

What kind of gatekeeper is are you leaving in charge of your potential? Let’s find out!

Who do you think is the gatekeeper of your potential? Everyone might think yourself is the gatekeeper, right? Well, actually today I want to talk about your ambition being the gatekeeper of your potential.

Throughout my life, growing up, I remember always having a want and a need to go after something more and better. Something more challenging and reach another level of success, whether it was in sports,  in school, in my fitness or my career. I even reached a point in my career, where I felt like I was really crushing it, yet I wanted more, because I always set a new ambition. I always raised the bar on myself. That’s a gift and a curse, right?

I’m sure you might be thinking, “Oh, man, what kind of woman am I? Am I the type of woman that is always setting a new ambition? I’m always going for becoming something more, doing something more, achieving something more.” If you think about what that is, it’s really just reaching beyond your routine or beyond your comfort zone, to be, to do, or to achieve something more. Sit back right now and ask yourself, “Am I the type of person that is raising the bar? Am I setting it, a new ambition?”

This could be big or small.

Think about the last time that you set a new ambition – whether it’s cleaning your closet, or updating one of your bedrooms. Maybe you’re about to start a new blog. Maybe it’s some big ambition, like you want to lose 20 pounds or you want to start your own business venture.

I know some people that are currently starting a new Etsy platform, where they’re selling their own goods, or they’re creating their own website to sell their crafts, or they’re starting a fitness company online. Those are huge, but setting a new ambition doesn’t have to be huge. It can be small.

I want to talk about why people avoid this part of their life or avoid this type of a lifestyle -always raising the bar on themselves and saying, “What can I do? What can I do to be, to do, to achieve more or something new in my life?”

It’s so important for our growth, right?

I think so many people avoid this, and I bring this up because I had a great conversation with my high performance students, who I meet with every week, and we talk about these deep issues, and these deep conversations, about leveling up.

High achievers, especially, are going to face struggle. They’re going to face challenges. They’re going to feel resistance in the world, because they are really striving for greatness.

It’s easy when you’re not striving for greatness, or you’re not setting a new ambition, or you’re not looking to achieve something more, because you’re just comfortable. Cruise it, like cruise control! You’re in your routine. You’re comfortable. That doesn’t create a lot of resistance for you. I think that’s what a lot of people enjoy. They don’t want the resistance. They don’t want the challenge. They don’t want to feel the struggle, and so they avoid setting themselves up for that.

I think it’s so important that we think on this and say, “Why am I not pushing myself a little bit?” Is it fear of failure? Is it just the fear of that process, that you don’t want to go through any kind of resistance? Without those pains, there’s no gains.

Sure, you can be comfortable, my friend. You can be sitting back, cruise controlling it through your life. Good for you, if you’re okay with just being the same type of person, to have the same type of development and growth and stationary livelihood that never really progresses much, because you never pushed yourself.

Don’t think too deeply on this.

This can be very simple. I don’t know a lot of people that actually never set some kind of new ambition, okay? There are very few people that just sit back on cruise control, but then, again, if you’re the type of person that hasn’t really pushed the limits …

Maybe you have been doing little things here and there, but you’ve got other things you’ve had in the back of your mind, where you’re just like, “I’ve got to take action. I’ve got to do that. Why am I avoiding that challenge?”

Without the pains, we don’t have the gains, right?

That is really limiting our potential. It’s limiting our growth. It really, truly is the gatekeeper.

Your ambition, where you set yourself up for challenge, what you strive to go for next in your life is really based on what you do next. What you’re looking to achieve, to be, to do.

If you never take that next step, if you never push forward, then you limit your growth, your potential. Avoidance, backing down … You know what? That never tests your character. Ooh, I said it. Don’t hate me.

Sort of like this new adventure I’ve taken to have a child. I think about it all the time, because it’s with me all the time. I know that this is the ultimate test of character for me. This was an ambitious thing for me to do, to have a baby.

In my life right now, this is my new ambition, you know? It has proven to be one of the greatest tests of character for me. I’ve gone through ups and downs and emotional changes, and things that have tested whether I can keep a positive perspective, whether I can be strong enough to pursue all the other things I’m doing, while taking on a new challenge.

Every time we take on a new ambition, it teaches us how to deal with hardship. It teaches us how to get better, and to remain strong through this battle of life. If we never push ourselves to be challenged or to get stronger or to face hardship or to deal with conflict and struggle, what kind of person do we become? What kind of leader can we be for others? What kind of role model are we setting ourselves up for? How will people look to us? What kind of advice can we give, if we haven’t ever pushed our limits?

Our potential is huge, massive.

Do you believe that you’re capable of so many things? I hope you do, because you are. If you don’t believe that, well, there’s one limiting belief that you’ve got to kick out the door. Kick it right in the ass, okay?

Get it out, because our potential is truly unlimited. We just don’t tap into it enough, out of fear, out of avoidance of that struggle, or whatever it might be. Maybe it’s our creativity. We just haven’t gotten creative, like, “What the hell can I do now?”

Right?

I want you to think about how to get started and how to really open up that gate to your potential. Start small. It doesn’t have to be big, actually, I don’t even suggest starting with something big.

I suggest setting a small, new ambition for yourself to start today. Think about what you want to do, or who you want to be, or what you want to achieve next in your life, and then do it, and don’t stop. Don’t give up. Don’t back down, especially when it gets hard, especially when you feel the resistance of the world or of life or whatever it is that’s going to come in your way.

Maybe roadblocks come up. Maybe you’re thinking, Oh, this is hard. This is a struggle. Honor that, because that’s where the growth happens. That’s where you get better. That’s where you become someone more. That’s where you develop the skills to handle the hardships of the world, of life, of situations.

Trust in your abilities.

Start with something little. Don’t go for the Big Kahuna right now.

Or maybe you’ve been playing small and it’s time to go for big. What have you been backing down from? What have you been waiting to do? Have you never sat back and thought about what that new ambition can be in your life? Now’s the time to take that step back and say, “Hmm, what is it that I want to do, be, or achieve now? What’s next on my agenda? What is my next challenge for myself?”

I know you have something in the back of your mind. You’re thinking about it right now. I always think about this, because when I get comfortable, I realize that I’m not growing. If I’m not growing, then that’s not a way for me to serve better, to live bigger, to earn more, to love more, to do everything in my life at the next level.

I do strive to be a high achiever, but being a high achiever means that you’re never fully satisfied with where you get. You’re always setting a new ambition. You’re always pushing the line. That’s exciting. It gets more comfortable, and it gets more addictive, and it’s a good thing.

I’m not saying that I’m not satisfied with my life. I want you to feel satisfied with your life. I want you to have that sense of fulfillment. That’s not the same thing as saying, “I want to achieve more. I want to be better. I want to do better.” Those are different.

You can be a very ambitious person and still be really fulfilled and satisfied with your life. The only way for you to keep fulfilling that life and feeling more satisfied is to keep going for the next. They can be big or small goals.

I know that when I have Lucca, I’ll wonder what is the new ambition? It’s going to be, “Ah, now I’ve got to feed this child,” I’m going to go through that whole challenge. I’m going to be like, “I can do this,” right? I’ve got to really figure this out. I mean, there’s always something new. It might not be business related. It might not be my personal agenda. It might not be something with my home. It might not be a financial or career goal. It’s fine.

All these ambitions, whether they’re big or small, and whatever category they lie in, are important. They make you a better person. They test that character. They develop your growth as a person.

Do not be the gatekeeper of your potential and set a limit on what it is you achieve in your life and how you experience your life. Living in the comfort zone can be fine, but living out of the comfort zone is great. I can tell you that, from experience, and I bet, if you ask anybody who has pushed their limits to grow and expand their skills or their knowledge or their personal growth in some way, that they’re living a greater life.

They’re either living with more joy. They’re living with greater happiness. They’re living with a greater wisdom, leadership, personal satisfaction, fulfillment, be they discovered more about themselves.

I think that, too often, we get comfortable, and we forget that, “Hey, you know what? I’m going to do this new project. Hey, you know what? I’m going to read this new book.” Whatever it is, is going to make you a better person. You’re going to learn more. You’re going to be able to lead more. You’re going to be able to teach more. You’re going to be able to know more. You’re going to be able to live differently.

I hope today you’ll set a new ambition, whether big or small. I hope that, in the comments below this video or my podcast, that you put what that new ambition is. I want to cheer you on. I really do. Whether it’s big or small, I want to know that you’re the type of woman that’s ready for growth. Sound good? Awesome.

To get more high performance coaching with Anna, get her FREE 5 Day High Performance Mastery Course and begin your journey of high achievement today.