When you develop your human potential, you’re a little bit closer to the best version of yourself. It’s not a quick fix and it’s not something you can buy.
It’s about identifying your core beliefs and values and prioritizing them in your life. Your core values might include things like integrity, kindness, and financial security.
Identify Your Core Beliefs
The Core Principles of Potentialism Theory are an important way to help you understand how to unlock your own potential. When you are aware of these principles, you can use them to create a positive context in which to grow and achieve your goals. This will allow you to become the best version of yourself.
Whether it’s in business or in life, your beliefs, values and motivations play an important role in your success. For example, if you believe that your worth is determined by how much money you earn, you may be more likely to focus on wealth building rather than personal development. However, if you have positive core beliefs about yourself and others, you will be more likely to embrace growth.
For example, if you believe that all men and women are equal, you will probably value personal growth over focusing on gender-based differences. Similarly, if you believe that the planet is endangered, you will probably prioritize environmental preservation.
Understanding the Core Principles of Potentialism will help you identify and define your core beliefs, values and motivations. This can make you more likely to achieve your goals and reach your full potential. You can also use these core beliefs as a foundation for your leadership and organizational practices.
Identify Your Core Values
Knowing your core values can give you a sense of direction and purpose. It can also help you determine who you want to be in life. It’s important to identify your core values because they can change as you grow and evolve, which is why it’s a good idea to check in with them regularly.
When identifying your core values, think about the things that are most important to you and what you’re drawn to. For example, if you value integrity, then you might decide to avoid flashy material possessions or take on unconventional projects. On the other hand, if you value financial security, then you might choose to pursue a traditional career path.
A lot of people discover their core values by introspection, reflecting on what they truly hold dear. But you can also look at what’s important to others, and what values they demonstrate in their behavior and decisions. For instance, if you admire someone’s honesty and openness, it might be worth exploring their core values to see if they align with yours.
If you’re a business leader, it’s critical to understand the importance of defining your company’s core values. This is because a strong sense of purpose can make or break employee satisfaction, and ultimately the success of your business.
Developing your company’s core values doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does require some time and dedication. For starters, start by finding a quiet place to reflect on what you truly value and what matters most to your business. Then, narrow down your list to 3-5 values that will serve as the foundation of your company culture. Finally, remember that your company’s core values should change and evolve as you and your team learn and grow.
Identify Your Core Needs
Identifying which of your core needs is driving your behavior helps you create positive patterns that lead to lasting fulfillment. According to Abraham Maslow, who created the hierarchy of human needs, there are five levels of basic human needs: physiological, safety, love and belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization.
Physiological needs include things like nutrition, sleep, exercise and physical comfort. These are the basics of our existence, and they are often overlooked. When we don’t meet our physiological needs, it can have serious consequences on health and wellbeing.
Safety needs involve a desire for order, structure and security in one’s life. If these aren’t met, people can become withdrawn and unmotivated. To meet safety needs, people may try to control their environment by staying in a familiar place or avoiding change. Others might use drugs or alcohol to help them feel safe, but this isn’t a healthy way to cope.
Love and belongingness needs involve a desire for intimacy, friendship, family, and community. Those who have this need may have difficulty in romantic relationships and may be prone to jealousy. To fulfill this need, people might seek out activities that promote connection and intimacy, such as volunteering or spending time with loved ones.
Self-esteem needs involve a desire for recognition and achievement. When these aren’t met, people can feel low in self-worth and develop a negative body image. To fulfill this need, people can do things to increase their status in their communities, such as working hard and achieving goals.
Lastly, the need for transcendence involves a desire for spirituality, nature, aesthetic experiences and higher consciousness. To meet this need, people might engage in religious or philosophical activities, meditation, and journaling.
Identify Your Core Goals
Identifying your core principles can help you clarify your goals and ensure that your business strategies are aligned to a clear reason for being. In addition, core principles can also be used to motivate your staff, helping them to navigate decisions and challenges and support each other when faced with difficult situations.
The key to identifying your core principles is to first understand what they mean to you. To do this, you can start by asking yourself: “What do I value?” “How do I feel about myself?” and “What are the most important things to me in life?” Once you have identified your core values, you can use them to develop your goals. You’ll find that you are more likely to achieve a goal if it is directly aligned with your core values. For example, if you value self-care, one way to achieve this is to set a goal to run a bubble bath on every second Sunday evening. This is a specific, meaningful, realistic, and time-bound goal that will help you to bridge the gap between your current life situation and your chosen core value.
It is important to remember that while your goals and business strategies may change, your purpose should not. Your purpose should be like a guiding star on the horizon that inspires you to keep moving forward. Achieving a business goal or strategy is similar to getting fuel, but your purpose is more like the compass that keeps you on track when your route changes.
Identify Your Core Motivations
Developing your human potential is a process that requires inner work. It’s about becoming more self-aware and emotionally flexible. It’s also about taking action to create the conditions that foster progress. To do this, we need to identify our core motivations. The enneagram offers a great way to do this. Instead of looking at traits like your personality, it looks at your core desires and fears.
For example, if you’re a One, you want to find a deep sense that all is well in the world and in yourself. The good you seek is about virtue, integrity, righteousness, and fairness. The bad is about being corrupt or deficient in some way.
To be motivated, you need to feel an internal drive to engage in activities that generate positive feelings and increase your skills. This can be accomplished by completing tasks that are meaningful to you, such as volunteering or participating in an event. It can also be achieved by acquiring intrinsic rewards, such as the satisfaction of learning something new or advancing a project that’s important to you.
In addition, it’s essential to understand that your core motivations can vary depending on context. For example, if you’re primarily motivated by the value of loyalty and trustworthiness, it may not be appropriate for you to mobilize around issues such as gender inequality in some contexts.
Understanding your core motivations will help you identify the best opportunities to develop your potential. It will also prevent you from wasting time and energy on things that don’t align with your values or goals. You can start by identifying your core desires and fears with our online assessment. It only takes a few minutes, and it’s free.
