If there's one sentence I've been told more than anything in my life, it's this:
"Louis, you got a lot of potential."
I always thought this was a nice compliment, showing that someone believed in what I could do and create in the future.
After deep contemplation over the past few years, my view on it has shifted.
Potential is more of an insult than a compliment.
If we turn to physics, the definition of potential is stored energy that hasn't been released yet.
So in the human interpretation, potential means you have not yet tapped into who you could be or what you could create. Energy, action, and creation are still stored in you and haven't been expressed.
The problem with "having potential" is that it becomes a warm blanket.
The individuals who have it attributed to them often delay expressing it to some future day - because the thought of potential feels comforting and safe.
But here's what physics also tells us: stored energy doesn't wait forever. It decays. It dissipates. The longer you keep it contained, the less there is to release. Courage is the release mechanism. Without it, your potential doesn't stay preserved. It fades.
So to me, having potential is an insult at best, despite how charming it may feel. It's a way of saying an individual has not yet found the way to tap into their stored energy of creation and action.
The guiding principle I am living by is seeking confrontation with reality again and again - with a solid inner foundation and renewed courage to act in spite of the possibility of things not working out.
In that sense, I am treating myself more as a science project than anything else. Everything I do becomes a data point. And I am seeking to fulfill my potential. Not next year, but now.
So what's stopping you from releasing yours?