Emma Heywood is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, practitioner of Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT), and international performer. She has been on her own mental health journey since she was 12 years old.
I’m sure you’ve heard that buzzword of a phrase dancing around the internet on constant repeat: “How to unlock your highest potential.” All these experts, coaches, and wellness industry folks promising you the “5-step solution” or “doing this one key formula” will “unlock your highest potential,” which leaves us uncertain whether, without this ‘one key thing,’ you will be able to unlock it nonetheless. But what happens if you don’t? Are you doomed to live a life of dissatisfaction and missed opportunities? And most importantly, what is your highest potential?
This all feels a bit daunting, no? It did for me, as I constantly saw this phrase everywhere. And the more I saw it pop up, the more empty it felt. What’s deemed ‘living your highest potential’ has all to do with outward pillars of ‘success.’ Your ‘highest potential’ must include some form of financial overflow, status, your follower count, if you have a successful relationship, kids, etc.
You’re told that to be happy and fulfilled, you need this certain amount of money. The problem is, it’s never enough. You get to one level, and there’s already another person telling you you need to reach the next level to ‘live your highest potential.’ All those versions of success come from what you have rather than who you are and how you feel. What if, and hear me out, what if your highest potential has nothing to do with what you have on the outside and all to do with what you are and feel on the inside? Moreover, what your highest potential is, and what my highest potential is, or your sister’s, friend’s, colleague’s, spouse’s, what all their highest potentials are, are entirely different things. And that is ok. It’s good!
As a Clinical Hypnotherapist with a unique perspective, I see what goes on behind the scenes in your life, self, and subconscious mind. I work with a wide range of people, all with different ‘potentials.’ And yet, all of my clients tell me they want the same thing. At the core, you all want a deeper connection with yourself. You want to authentically love yourself, value yourself, follow your dreams and what lights you up, let go of fear, and feel worthy enough to achieve your dreams. Your dreams are all different, of course, but the thing that you all have in common is wanting the self-love to live them.
I can be helping an athlete’s dream to win a championship, a stay-at-home mom’s dream to feel more confident and be able to put herself first, or another person’s dream to finally love their body after a lifetime of eating disorders. Neither is better or higher than the other. All of this is tapping into your unique desire for your life. Into your authentic self and your authentic life.
So, instead of being so fixated on outward success, what if you measured your success or ‘potential’ from your internal experience? How you feel in yourself and in your life.
What do you want? What do you desire? Maybe, to the essence of your heart, it’s not a six-figure income, tons of followers, travelling the world, speaking on stages, or having a huge ‘status’ as the thing you want. Maybe you want a lovely life at home or a life where you have space for rest or just enough money to have what you need without the constant pursuit of ‘more.’ What if what you want is a loving, deep, true, honest connection to yourself? Can you see that as ‘living your highest potential?’
From what I have gathered from the wide range of clients I support around the world, doing what you want and following what you desire (not what society says will bring you fulfillment) is actually what it means to live your highest potential. Knowing yourself and loving yourself is living your highest potential.
In my work as a hypnotherpist, so often I take you back to your experience in childhood. Yes, tapping into the pain you experienced, but also tapping into the joy you experienced. Living your potential is actually coming back home to yourself and your unique joy. That is enough.
Living your highest potential means blocking out the outside noise and societal conditioning and tuning in and following your truth. Knowing that you are enough on the inside regardless of anything you have or don’t have on the outside.
Because guess what? Everything on the outside can go. The money, status, followers, partner, etc, it all can go. And if your worth and success are caught up in everything on the outside, that is a dangerous way to live. But when your worth is caught up in your internal feelings and relationship with yourself, that is truly living your potential. Approaching life from a place of exploration and curiosity, following your sheer joy, and not just marking off ‘achievements’ is living your highest potential.
Loving yourself and living life the way you want to live it is living your potential. Your highest potential is being true to you, regardless of what the outside world tells you, what you need for success and happiness. You don’t have to compare your potential to anyone else. It is uniquely yours.
If this topic interests you, here is an article, The Never-Ending Pursuit of My Potential, from a writer and client of mine telling her experience of debunking what it means to ‘live your highest potential’:
Read more from Emma Heywood
Emma Heywood, Clinical Hypnotherapist, RTT Practitioner
Emma Heywood is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, a practitioner of Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT), Performance Mindset Coach, and a classically trained actress, performing on stage from North America to Europe. She has been on her own mental health journey since she was 12 years old. She knows what it’s like to struggle with depression, anxiety, and PTSD. She transformed her life using RTT, hypnosis, and the power of her subconscious mind. She went from living a life of trauma and low self-esteem to one of inner freedom, self-worth, joy, abundance, and embodying her purpose. And now she helps others do the same. You too can live a life free from self-doubt, fear, low self-esteem, and anxiety. You too can become the most powerful, liberated, confident version of you yet. Emma will be your guide: see you on the other side.
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