Welcome to the InFluency Podcast. I’m Hadar, and this is episode number 361. And today we have another mindset talk that is about how to tap into your full potential. A lot of times when it comes to speaking English or thinking about ourselves in English, we feel like we’re not enough, we’re not taking advantage of the opportunities or the possibilities that are out there for us. And it’s because of English.

So in this episode, I want to talk about this and I want to talk about how you can tap into your full potential in English by simply changing how you think about it and the actions you take. So let’s listen to today’s mindset talk.

Okay, so let’s talk about tapping into your full potential because that’s the topic of today. And there is a lot of promise in that title – tapping into your full potential, right? Even just the word potential has a lot of promise in it. And I want you to know, I want you to ask yourself, What comes up when you think about potential? What comes up for you when you think about potential, when you think about potential in English?

And when we think about potential, we also think about unfulfilled potential. And what does that mean? What have you been saying ‘no’ to in English that is a result of not fulfilling your potential or basically the embodiment of not fulfilling your potential? Because we all have unlimited potential, we’re born with unlimited potential. There is so much that we can do.

And then as we go through life, things get in the way. And of course, we’re not born into the same circumstances. Some people have it easier than others, like their cultural structures. And there is so much that goes into equal opportunities. So of course not everyone gets an equal opportunity. But at the same time as a human being in terms of what you’re able to fulfill, you do have the ability of really fulfilling everything that is possible for you in terms of like your potential.

And sometimes there are things that get in our way, like our beliefs, and us thinking about what’s possible for us. If we have certain limiting beliefs, like, “Oh, I’ll never be able to get it”, or “Oh, it’s too hard”. Or a question that I got asked yesterday: “I don’t live in an English speaking country, so obviously it’s going to affect my ability to succeed”. Then apart from objective circumstances, these are things that you can actually change to allow you to reach more and do more for yourself. Okay?

So I want you to ask yourself today – if you could imagine an ideal result, a situation where this would be your ideal outcome of, you know, your English work and what you want to achieve in life – what is your end goal? Why are you doing this work? What are you hoping for? Is it just like this personal fulfillment and feeling good about yourself and feeling accomplished in English? Or is there more? What are you hoping for? Do you want to work in a global company? Do you want to move to a different country? Do you want to make more friends? Do you want to make more connections? What feels impossible to you right now, yet, secretly, inside, you want that for yourself? So that is the first question you need to ask yourself.

And then, tying the loop back into what I started saying, what is getting in your way? What is preventing you, what are the thoughts that are preventing you from believing that that outcome is possible for you? So, if your outcome is just to speak about yourself confidently in a social situation without feeling self-conscious, let’s say that is your outcome because you want to feel like yourself in your community or in English. What is getting in your way? What is preventing you from fulfilling that potential? Because if you have a certain goal or dream in your mind and in your heart, it means that it’s possible for you. Otherwise, your brain would not even have produced that thought. So if you have a thought that you deem as impossible, it’s probably possible. And what’s getting in your way is, in many of the cases, is just yourself.

So what are some of the things, what are some of the things that get in your way? These are the questions that I want you to ask yourself today. So even if you have a goal of speaking a certain way, I want you to ask yourself, what would that help you achieve – a certain feeling, a certain change in circumstances? A lot of times we say that the work that we do here is really the work of changing the circumstances of our lives. Because English does open doors. And working on your English obviously allows you to break the ceiling and do things that are not possible if you’re thinking big, if you’re thinking about, you know, using the internet and connecting with people around the world.

So, I really want you to know that it actually goes beyond just the language because the language does open doors. But also that sense of accomplishment or to self-actualize yourself is a pretty strong motivation. So maybe that is what you want for yourself.

What I’m trying to say, and what I want you to focus on today, is that it is possible for you. Every time you say to yourself, “Oh, it’s not possible because I’m not capable of doing it, I don’t have the resources, I’m not good enough”, then remind yourself that maybe it is just about how you think about it that needs to change.

Now, of course, changing your thoughts is not enough. You have to put in the work, you have to practice. When it comes to another language, you have to practice. But what is preventing you from showing up for your practice? Is there something that is telling you, “No, don’t do this. It’s not going to work for you”. Or, “I’m too busy. I don’t have time. I’m overwhelmed. I don’t know what to do”. So sometimes it’s not just about your capability, it’s also about the thoughts that get in your way that prevent you from doing the actual work that needs to be done to get the things you want.

I recently watched a video by Mel Robbins. She’s a life coach and a public speaker and an author. And she was getting into an ice bath. And in the video, she said, “I don’t want to do this. I don’t feel like doing it. But I’m doing it because I’m telling myself that these are the things that my future self does”. And I thought it was so good!

Because sometimes we don’t want to do things. For me, it’s working out, right? Like I just don’t want to do it. And a good way for me to deal with that resentment and resistance is just to say, “These are the things that my future self does”. And then you do it. Because your future self, let’s say your future self has a certain way of speaking or works at a certain place or does certain things. And who do you have to be and what do you have to do to be the person who has those things, who has achieved those goals, who is fulfilling their full potential? What are the things that this person does? And start doing those things today.

Surround yourself with the right people. Ignore the things that make you feel bad. Stop following accounts that make you feel bad, or stop hanging out with people who make you feel like you’re never going to be able to achieve what you want to achieve.

Notice those things and get rid of the friction or the things that get in your way, right, or the thoughts, of course. Do the things that your future self does and your future self has the things that you want for yourself. It would make it very easy for you to know what to say yes to, and what to say no to.

So I’m going to say it again. When you know where you’re going, and when you think about achieving a certain goal, and when you know what needs to get done to achieve that goal, it makes it very easy for you to say yes to things and to say no to things.

And going back to what we talked about yesterday, create the best circumstances for you to succeed. No one’s going to do it for you, just you. No one’s going to clean up those negative thoughts or the thoughts that get in your way. It’s your job to do it. It’s not going to go away unless you actively do it. The brain really likes to repeat familiar thoughts. It’s efficient.

And building confidence is not going to remove those thoughts. It’s removing those thoughts that need to happen before you start building your confidence for yourself to build confidence. So no one’s going to get you to practice. No one’s going to help you just change your thoughts. It’s all up to you.

And if you have access to the internet, there’s so much free content out there. And of course, if you can afford to invest in yourself and in your training, that’s a different story, but it’s not even a must, right? Sometimes it’s just a matter of managing your time and using the resources that the world already has to offer you. If you’re here, you have access to the internet. Which again, maybe you take it for granted, but a lot of people don’t. A lot of people don’t even have access to what you have access to.

So let’s take advantage of what we already have access to, which is the freedom to create our own thoughts. And access to the internet. And then the ability to say, “Here’s what I want, here’s what I know needs to happen”. And I’ve given you a lot of tools to know what to do during this week. “Here’s what I know needs to happen. How do I make it happen?”

So if you want to tap into your full potential, it’s really taking ownership – over your thoughts, over your actions, and over the environment that you create for yourself. And yes, sometimes we need someone to take us by the hand and guide us through it step by step. I know this has been the case for me as well.

In my business, when I needed help, I sought out for help. I joined programs. I had a mentor, a coach that I paid a lot of money for. And the things that I’ve learned from that experience, I’m teaching to you, whatever I can. But yes, sometimes we need the structure, and we need to be held accountable. This is why I think being inside of a community that holds you accountable, that does the things that you want to do is one of the most valuable things that you can do for yourself.

And if you need the guidance and the mentorship, then by all means, I’d be more than honored to help you and to support you moving forward. I’m saying that because someone commented, “I tried, but I can’t, I need mentorship”. So I just wanted to address that.

Yes, sometimes we need more help. But sometimes if you can’t, then it’s all up to you. And even when you get mentorship, just so you know, there is still work that only you can do. So the work here, the mindset work, it’s just you – with guidance and coaching, but ultimately, when you’re confronted with a negative thought, it’s just up to you to recognize it and to not let it affect you and turn it around. Flip the disc, create a positive thought, and decide that that’s what you’re thinking right now.

It’s not easy work. It takes time and practice. But from experience, from my own personal experience dealing with these thoughts, and from the experience of my students, seeing them, learning how to change those thoughts, it’s a process, but it works. It does, okay? And then whenever you do come across discrimination and criticism, because we can’t change the world, and sometimes there are people who will use their language as, you know, to gain power over you. And sometimes maybe your English is not going to be up to par to what you want to do yet.

We do what we can. What is in our power, what is in our control? To create a better life for ourselves and better circumstances. We can’t control others. We can only control how we interpret their actions. And then we socially do what we can to move against that. We speak out, we talk about the discrimination. We talk about the things that are… about the wrongdoings in our society.

Okay, my friends, that’s it for today. We went a little longer, but some things needed to be said. Have a beautiful rest of the day. And thank you for being here with me.