Top 4 Reasons You are Falling Short of Your Potential

We’re coming up on the last quarter of the year – things are cooling off, and there’s excitement around the new season. The holidays are approaching and before you know it, it’ll be the end of yet another year. For me, the fall season is always such a great time to reflect on everything before we hit that final stretch when the days and weeks seemingly move at the speed of light. 

I like to reflect on the progress I’ve made, the changes I’ve gone through, and the ways I’ve grown and expanded, both professionally and personally. 

So, If you reflected back on what progress you’ve made towards your vision this year, could you honestly say that you’ve reached your potential? 

And if you’re in the same exact spot – physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually – what’s causing you to be stuck there? 

And if you take one step forward, but two steps back.. WHY? 

If you’re completely stumped and thinking “SHEESH.. Idk.. I’m not sure what’s stopping me!”, then you’re in luck. 

Because I’m about to share the TOP 4 REASONS millennials are feeling completely stuck and falling short of their highest potential. 

So Are you Ready? Let’s Go!

#4: You’re setting the bar too low. 

Yep. That’s right. You’re limiting yourself. 

I know most people like to be realistic with where they’re going in life, and that’s great, however, when you don’t believe that you are capable of what you truly want, then you lower your standards. 

When you’re not confident in your capabilities, you pick something just a touch below your true wishes/desires, and settle for that instead. And because that’s not really what you wanted in the first place, you give up on it. 

If you really want to start reaching your potential, start shooting for the moon – the real deal. And believe that it is possible. 

For example, if your true desire is to lose 50lbs and become a runner, but you think “Sweet Jesus, is that really possible for me?” And your subconscious is like “Nah girl, it’s not” then you’re going to listen to that.. Because your subconscious controls your behavior. And you’re going to end up saying “maybe I’ll just lose 15lbs, and that will be good enough”.. 

When you don’t believe that you are capable of what you truly want, then you lower your standards. 

Cayla cripps

Instead, TRY THIS: 

Release the idea that you need to be logical about it. We as millennials spend too much time analyzing and predicting if something can actually happen. Instead, tune into your inner 5-year-old self who literally thought it was possible to have a million dollars in the bank, become an astronaut, and also spend your days living on an island in the Caribbean. 

What do you really want? What makes you excited and light up on the inside? What would be really fun for you? What makes your heart sing? 

It doesn’t have to make sense. Just think: if you could have anything, what would it be? 

The world is your damn oyster. 

#3: You’re letting fear and limiting beliefs get in the way.

This is one of the most common reasons I see millennials resist moving towards their full potential. 

Because you’re afraid of the unknown. 

You’re afraid of failing. 

You’re afraid of judgement, criticism, and loss. 

You’re afraid of actually trusting that inner-knowing. 

So, you limit yourself. You hit the breaks, thinking “whoa.. What’s gonna happen if this doesn’t work out”?

And then your mind spirals into the abyss. 

We do this because we are afraid of change in general. Afraid of what might happen if things started taking off in the right direction for us. We start to imagine a different life, and THAT scares us, even if the ‘new life’ is much more appealing.

At that point, you actually become afraid of your own potential success. 

So what does one do to try and avoid this?

I want to challenge you to shift your perspective next time when you’re faced with a fearful task or scenario that might actually help you grow. Ask yourself this: “what could happen if it DOES work out?”

What are the possibilities? What could you gain from it? What could you learn? 

Do not let your mind go down that dark, scary, rabbit hole of “what if’s” UNLESS there is something positive in there.

You might be wondering what will happen if you actually show up for yourself, face the fear, do the thing you were afraid of, and make it happen. 

Hopefully, lots of AMAZING things. But I want to warn you.. Fear will continue to show up. Your fear, at this point, will try SO. HARD. to protect you. And it’s going to be your job to say “Hey buddy, thanks for coming but I don’t need you anymore. Carry on.”

Do not let your mind go down that dark, scary rabbit hole of “what if’s” UNLESS there is something positive in there.

Cayla Cripps

Here are my words of advice to millennials who make the plunge out of their comfort zones:

DON’T. STOP. 

Think of it like a snowball effect. If you are rolling a snowball down a hill, and it’s picking up snow along the way and getting bigger and more powerful, it’s going to be hard to stop. But if it does stop, good luck getting that thing rolling again.

Once you build that momentum up, do that out-of-your-comfort-zone-scary-thing every. Single. Day. Make it your job to show up and be messy and fearful and go all in.

Reason #2: You’re not being specific enough 

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. .

The more vague your goals and your intentions are, the more trouble you’re going to have reaching your fullest potential in life.

The universe responds to specifics. It responds to taking hell bent action on whatever it is you want. 

“I want to make more money this year” is NOT a strong goal.

“I’m going to make 500 extra dollars each month by selling all of my lululemon leggings on Poshmark and I’m going to use that money to buy plane tickets to travel across the world and eat sushi on a yacht off the coast of New Zealand”…  IS a strong goal. 

And guess what??  You’re going to be waaaay more likely to take action on that. 

GET. CLEAR. On what you want. 

Get clear on the systems, the vision and the motivation behind your intention for yourself. 

Then you’re gold. 

Reason #1: You lose sight of your “why”