Adult learning potential refers to our total learning capacities. It includes cognitive and affective learning as well as intuitive and reflective learning. It does not refer just to formal education (which accounts for only a small portion of our learning), but rather all learning for living, especially learning how we manage our lives. Adult learning potential is influenced by three factors: the influence of stress, the power of the mind, and self-imposed limitations. If we are going to make greater use of and develop further our adult learning potential, we will need to (1) become more creative in approaching the life events we experience; (2) be more risk-taking in exploring new and possible means for managing our lives; (3) look beyond traditional limits and self-imposed parameters by expanding our experience base with untried but not unreasonable options; (4) explore the unknown and find out just how many choices there really are; (5) develop options by anticipating the range of alternative outcomes; (6) make the negative positive by changing perceptions and modifying our behavior accordingly; and (7) direct ourselves to where we wish to go. (A summary of 15 models of stress, by various authors, with major theories compared and contrasted, is included in this paper.) (KC)