Create our own tasks and gradually make them harder. 
When we are in a profession or other engagements, tasks are mostly defined. Career paths are also outlined. 
When time is available for doing more, we can create our own tasks or goals for getting better and better, year after year. 
To make the point clear, say someone has decided to learn some new skill. He joins a training center and gets it completed. It happens because of his concern for the proper use of spare time. 
Routines take allotted time per day. There is the possibility of cutting some time in lengthy processes like bathing, washing mouth, getting dressed, or something else. 
Once we have completed the initial stages smoothly, going forward becomes easy. Our inner power is ready to cooperate once we begin the task. When we love our work, we forget if there is any boundary. 
When we feel it is too high to jump, the matter ends here. Prudence demands that we focus on the next milestone and not the total length of a thousand miles. 
Even if there is no financial, organizational, or social compulsion to upgrade ourselves, ask ourselves, "If life is ready to give more, why not make use of it?" This is termed "identification of one’s own uniqueness," which is beyond the notice of others in the same environment.
If someone has done something amazing, it is a message that it is possible. It became possible , not by practicing for a week or month, it might have taken years. 
So the first point is courage; the second is consistency; the third point is not being self-centered; and the fourth point is believing in getting support from everyone around us, discarding negatives in the surroundings. We have drawn the boundaries and we can expand these boundaries from time to time.