Why “Maximizing” Your Potential is a Fool’s Errand

I often hear from clients that they want to “fulfill” or “maximize” their potential.

Perhaps you can relate.

For years, I wanted to maximize my potential. But then I realized that this was a fool’s errand.

Here is why trying to “maximize your potential” is a losing game, and what you should focus on instead.

Your Potential Is Always Ahead of You

Your potential lives in the future. It’s an illusion. It has always been and always will be ahead of you.

The more skills you develop, and the more you grow, the more your potential expands, in theory. Even if you didn’t grow, your potential would be in front of you.

This means that you can never catch up with it, and therefore can never fulfill it or maximize it.

It’s like chasing a line that keeps moving forward.

What to Focus on Instead

Your capacity is your capability and your ability. It is the measure of what you can do now, in the present.

The present is the only place you’ll ever live.

Instead of worrying about fulfilling or maximizing your potential, focus on expanding your capacity.