If someone displays these 6 traits, they have untapped potential in life

Do you ever feel like you’re not quite firing on all cylinders?

Or maybe you’re frustrated by that under-achieving friend who seems to be drifting through life without ever truly applying themselves.

Here’s the thing.

First of all, I think having these thoughts from time to time is perfectly normal (I know I do). After all, we can’t all have the work ethic of Elon Musk (who works 16 hours a day).

But more importantly, what makes you so sure you have so much room for improvement (and you’re not just an overconfident dreamer)?

Well, how many of these six traits below do you recognize?

Because if you answer ‘yes’ to all of them, chances are you have serious untapped potential (and you should probably start doing something about it!)

1) Incredible determination and resilience

There’s so much secret sauce that goes into unearthing your full potential.

But I have to put this right at the top.

And I want to share this awesome quote from Winston Churchill:

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

In other words, like a dog with a bone, you simply don’t give up.

Think about it.

You’re going to face setbacks (if it were easy, it probably isn’t worth doing in the first place). What’s important is how you handle these setbacks.

Sure, at the start you’re full of motivation and you can’t wait to get stuck in. But what happens when you run out of money, you face legal issues, or you even put your marriage on the line (seems dramatic, I know, but you get the point)?

If you want to reach your potential, you’re going to have to dig deep, bounce back, and keep grinding no matter what.

So yes, you’re going to need bucketloads of determination and resilience (before anything else).

2) Extremely open-minded (growth mindset)

Another biggy right here.

I’m talking about lateral thinking, considering all the options, having the correct mindset, being dynamic, and basically being able to pivot when necessary.

Because having an “it’s my way or the highway” attitude won’t get you very far (and certainly won’t help you reach your full potential).

It comes down to having a growth mindset.

This means you believe anything is possible and even your biggest weaknesses can be developed with dedication and hard work. This attitude is the foundation for building resilience (which is essential if you want to achieve greatness).

Look at the opposite scenario, having a fixed mindset.

We all know the type. They believe their intelligence or skills are fixed traits. They tend to be more narrow-minded, and less adventurous in life.

Put it this way.

Even if you’re a genius, a fixed mindset will seriously hamper your chances of reaching your full potential.

3) Burning passion

To unlock your full potential, you’ve got to be in it for the right reasons.

And getting rich quick, isn’t it.

This again feeds into determination and your ability to keep going. Because when sh*t hits the fan, you’re going to need to really enjoy what you’re doing (or have a deep-rooted reason) to stick at it.

One way to describe passion is something that gets you out of bed in the morning. In other words, something that genuinely excites you.

I think this quote from Bob Dylan sums it up nicely:

“What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.”

4) Plenty of creativity

Do you ever lie awake at night with an overactive mind?

You just can’t shut it off.

Whether it’s about how you embarrassed yourself in front of the whole office (it probably wasn’t that bad), your next big business idea, or simply about an amazing fantasy land where everyone can fly!

If you can relate, chances are you’re exceptionally creative.

The good news is, this is a key component needed for hitting your full potential.

The bad news is, you might want to practice meditation to get a good night’s sleep!

Here’s the thing about creativity.

It allows us to come up with innovative solutions to complex problems. It gives you the power to explore original ideas and build incredible works of art. But most importantly, it feeds into open-mindedness, stress relief, adaptability, and thinking outside of the box.

All very important factors for achieving great success in life!

5) Relevant skills and experience

Now I know what you’re thinking.

Having world-class skills or years of experience mastering your profession is surely THE most important thing for unlocking massive potential in your chosen field.

All you need to do is apply yourself, right?

Well, not exactly.

Don’t get me wrong, skills are important. But just like anything in life, skills can be learned (remember the growth mindset?)

So, things like strong communication, leadership, and sales (along with more specific skills related to your passion) may cut down your learning curve and help you reach your goals faster, but they’re not essential.

And our final point on this list…

6) Intelligence (but not really)

Research suggests that IQ is an important predictor of work success.

This means that highly intelligent people who aren’t yet achieving massive success probably have untapped potential in life.

Here’s why.

High IQ gives you so many advantages. It allows you to think critically, make better decisions, solve problems, and consider a range of different solutions.

It also boosts your learning capability and lets you pick up on things faster than others.

But don’t worry!

For those of you who weren’t top of your class, you still have plenty of unrealized potential to find (it just might take a bit more effort to get there).

I’ll leave you with this thought.

What do Kourtney Kardashian, Muhammad Ali, and Britney Spears all have in common?

At some point they all had massive untapped potential in life yet they all had below-average IQ scores.

One thing you can be sure of – is that they possessed the other traits mentioned above by the bucketload!