The Fear of Wasted Potential

There’s a fear that I carry quietly. It isn’t the fear of failing. Failure is something that has shape. Failure is clear. It’s when you try something and it simply doesn’t work , you move forward. The actual fear I carry is so much more harder to define. I constantly carry the fear of choosing the wrong path in life.

At some point human beings grow up and begin to realize that the future is not just there waiting for them. It is a thousand different directions, ambitions, choices, careers, cities… Thousands of versions of who they could become.

This realization is exciting but frightening. It’s unsettling because every choice closes a door for another opportunity.

The fear of wasted potential comes from the consistent thought that there is a “correct” way to live your life. The thought that there is a version of your life that every decision is optimal, every opportunity is taken and every talent is used to its fullest. Perhaps this belief is where the real mistake begins.

We define failure as not becoming the most successful version of ourselves. As a society we know failure as not having the most impressive job, the most unique talents or being the wealthiest.

But that definition quietly turns life into a competition against imaginary versions of ourselves. A life cannot be measured against all the lives that could have existed but never did.

If we think about it, maybe failure isn’t about choosing the wrong path. Maybe failure was believing that there is a singular path that everyone should follow to begin with.

Every choice creates a unique version of your life. Some lead to success and some lead to mistakes. None of the choices necessarily lead to failure and none of them are necessarily wasted.

This is because potential was never meant to be fully exhausted. It was meant to be explored.