Addicted to Your Potential? The Hidden Cost of Constant Self-Improvement

Everyone has potential. No matter how good we are at any given thing, as human beings, there is still a better version of all of us that exists.

Some people’s potential may be greater than others', maybe due to genetic makeup, their intelligence, but also how much potential each person has already realised. 

Chasing that potential is fun; it’s rewarding, and it’s one of the best journeys we can experience. 

It can be so engaging and rewarding that it becomes addictive, which isn’t inherently bad, but at what point does that addiction cause more harm than good?

Is that even possible? Well, here are a couple of drawbacks I’ve noticed from being addicted to my potential, ones that have made me stop and readjust my approach and mindset, ones that have made me question almost everything I was doing.

Losing Meaning

I’ve talked a lot about YOU being the point, as in the meaning you’re looking for is within yourself; it’s who you are and who you could become. Which, I still believe, however, for this point I’m going to have to take a slightly different angle.

See, even this can be taken too far. 

Why do we decide to change? Obviously, we know we can be better and being better is a good enough reason to go and do something about it, but there’s still a reason for that change to be worthwhile.

A lot of the time when we dig deeper, we realise that a lot of what we’re aiming for isn’t really what we want; it’s for something that comes as a consequence of getting it. So whether we’re conscious of it or not, we’re actually wanting something entirely different.

In this context, we might think we’re changing for the very reason of bringing out our potential, but in reality we may be looking for what that might bring…

Becoming better versions of ourselves gives us opportunities we otherwise wouldn’t have; this might mean getting a better job, a partner, a change of location, better friends. Although we might not realise it, there’s a whole other reason for improving ourselves.

Thus, when we get addicted to chasing our own potential, even though we were never conscious of what we were truly looking for, we still may lose sight of it. We get so focused on ourselves that we forget why we're even chasing our potential anyway.

This is like a full circle moment, but not a good one. It can lead to utter disappointment, a loss of meaning, and even a depressive episode. 

Losing meaning is not an experience I would recommend, but it’s very likely when getting completely lost in your own potential.

We raise our standards higher and higher until we’ve stopped doing most of what brings us joy, and when we question why we’re doing it and get no definitive answer, we realise we’ve lost something along the way.

Losing The Moment

This one isn’t as deep or as consequential, but it’s more common and definitely worth noting.

When we’re so focused on who we CAN be, we forget to enjoy who we ARE. We completely forget to enjoy ourselves along the way.

One of the best parts about changing and becoming better is the process; it’s realising how far you’ve come and letting your hair down now and again.

But if all we’re too consumed with looking after the future version of ourselves, we start neglecting our current selves. And when you think about it, neglecting ourselves now doesn't exactly do our future selves any good.

Sometimes, the best way to ensure we get the most from our future selves is to let ourselves live.

This doesn’t mean drink a bottle of Vodka and go crazy; it just means be where your feet are. Enjoy yourself.

If you’ve reached the point of being overly consumed with who you can become, the chances are, you’re probably far better than you were at the start. So why did you even bother beginning if you, now, a better version of who you used to be, refuses to use what you’ve done for good?

Let’s not forget, our time on this planet is limited, and if we spend our entire time here chasing something we can never fully reach, we’ll forget to actually live it.

So, by all means, chase your better selves, but do so with caution. Because sometimes our better selves are someone who knows how to live.