My wife's work had a "family day" this afternoon, so we dropped by with Smallsteps for a hotdog, smoothie and a bounce on a jumping castle - as well as the highlight perhaps, getting a glittery unicorn tattoo.
I wonder how much influence these have on "tattoo culture" over the last couple decades, because when I was a kid, these fake ones weren't really a thing at all and now they are common. Now, people are absolutely covered in real ones and many have no qualms about having neck and face tattoos. I think at that point, you are saying - I am not going to be a lawyer.
Potential is a funny thing, as it is one of those constantly changing unknowns that are based on all the conditions at a given point in time, with those conditions also constantly changing to affect possibility. I am not one of the people who believe that any child can be anything, because it just isn't viable based on availability of opportunity and resources. Plus, there is the obvious genetic component that dictates a lot of what we are able to do. For instance, I don't think many from the Pacific Islands get into high jump as a sport.
I normally use height and basketball as an example - because I am a short ass.
I also think that a lot of what we choose to do is triggered by relatively minor events in our lives, where for example, our parents have a certain career so we follow or don't follow based on our understanding of their experience with it. With so many people hating their jobs and only doing it for the money, this is likely going to impact on children who will build their understanding of career that it is only done for the earning potential.
However, we also tell children to "do what they love" or makes them happy or something like that, yet fail to demonstrate and lead by example. We can say that "we didn't have the chance" to do what we loved, but is that actually the case or, did we just fail to take the opportunities when they arose, so our potential to do those things shifted what we love out of our reach?
Perhaps, "what we love" is a unicorn, it doesn't actually exist at all, because as humans, we are never content with anything for long, meaning that even if we find what we love today, pretty soon - we are looking for a new love to possess. It is a life of cyclical dissatisfaction, realization of goals, and then growing boredom into dissatisfaction again. We always want the next high, which has to be grander than the last in some way.
Even the people who "downsize their lives" are actually chasing an outcome of some kind, looking to grow their potential in some way. Moving from a house to an apartment to free up maintenance time or expense, getting rid of their car to ride a bike more and get exercise, living minimalistically in the country side to get out of the rat race - is still looking to maximize something. It might not be money or public status, but it is a value of some kind - even if only one that is held personally.
Like it or not, we are all chasing something, even if that is chasing less of something. We are human, it is what we do. But, humans are also evaluative, so we judge our experience, including our experiences with other people and observing their activity. Often, people judge those who chase money as greedy, yet the same person might be chasing free time, without seeing the greed in their own behavior. Both could be maximalists, but what they are maximizing is different, with the value of each applied at the personal level. It is like judging someone on their favorite color unfavorably, because it isn't the same color as your own favorite.
I made this mouse!
There weren't even instructions involved, I just winged it and twisted that sucker up.
Perhaps I have the potential for a career as a clown.
Yet, at 43 years of age, this was the first time I have ever had the opportunity to even attempt to make a balloon animal. So, my career clowning potential is probably pretty low, especially since based on conditions, circumstances and available resources, I probably need to keep the jobs I have in order to pay the bills and meet obligations.
The entry picture says "I'm about to reach my full potential", but in reality, we are always running at current full potential because that is all we can ever do. We are always doing our best, we are always doing all we can in the moment - but in the next moment, we can reflect back on what we did and say, I could have done more, I could have made different decisions, I could have been a different way. But, we weren't in that moment, because we actually couldn't do anything different than what we did, knowing what we did at the time, with the resources and conditions we had.
As said, potential is a funny thing, because it is only when we look back that we understand there were other choices we could have made that would have significantly changed our outcomes. But looking forward, we think we will make better decisions in the future, even though our reflections have always told us, we never ever optimize the moment completely.
Yet, despite never being able to maximize our potential, it doesn't mean we can't actively affect it by learning from the past and through others, to improve the decisions we would have made, if we didn't learn at all. That way, despite the changing dynamics and lack of optimization, we are still directing ourselves into the future, hopefully in ways that are valuable to us - even if other people think we are wasting our potential.
One thing is for sure. Potential is meaningless until it is realized.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
We never reach our full potential and never will. That may sound negative but as a human, it seems impossible. Folks don't realize the dream of possibilities, and secondly, folks aren't motivated to go after it fully. I tend to think it can be age related, as we are more inspired when we are younger. Sad we don't see the big picture like we should.
We never reach our full potential and never will.
Exactly. It is impossible. Every move we make, takes other moves off the table of possibility.
As they say, youth is wasted on the young. I wonder what a life would be like if a young person went in knowing a lifetime of perspective..
🤣🤣🤣
Or a doctor or dentist or manager in most places!! Footballer ✅ hairdressers✅ Most other professions ❌ Not that I give a shit, but society seems to still give a shit..
There have been short basketball players like Mugsy back in the day...
Outside of sports and music careers or acting I truely believe that my kids can do anything... Maybe that was how my parents raised me, I don't know
Yes, but Mugsy couldn't be a swimmer! :D
I think the "professionalism" needed for giving a shit depends on what is at stake personally. You don't care much about the hairdresser or you expect them to be a bit quirky - but the dentist sticking stuff in your mouth! :D
My dad was an artist and without teaching me or having learned, I can draw decently. He sucked at math too. It isn't that it necessarily stops me from being a mathematician, but it could put in a much higher hurdle, making it functionally impossible, given all of the other factors involved in life, and distractions.
Touché 🤣🤣
Hmmmmm ya makes sense, numbers come easy to me and can do most maths in my head, my kids especially have picked up that too and my Dad was good with numbers too and 3 of his kids including me are engineers now..
We as humans have our opinion on how to make or take decision Which I believe is personal in most cases to handle.
It is personal, in the sense that it only affects us :)
I am agree with that we are always chasing something almost in whole life. As a human being our desire and demand will never end. Whenever we fulfill our one desire or one demand another desire or demand appear again. I think it's a non stop cycle and it continue till our death. Most of us become so busy for chasing something that we almost forget to enjoy the current moment and realise our potential power.
Perhaps it is the bane of having awareness of more than our immediate selves in the moment - it is a blessing that we can develop so much, but it makes for a challenging experience.
I think that if someone hates their job, they will direct their children into another field, certainly not what their parents do.
Right, I didn't have the chance what I love to do because my opportunities were limited. Therefore, I had to choose what would make me earn money in a short time.
I think a lot of people make this decision, don't they? Maybe it is based on the understanding that work sucks - so the goal is to avoid it.
They do. I think it is based on the concern for the future, at least for me.
Oh what a cute little glitter-tattoo! Now I want one.🙃
We can only act or react at any given moment based on what we know. It's important to consider all factors of course, to pick away at problems or reach out for opportunities, but we can only do so based on who we happen to be at the given point. Being the best we can be, under those conditions, is the best way to circumvent possible regrets later, although it may not prevent them. Also, when we regret things using hindsight, it's always best to remember that in that moment (in the past) we were acting/deciding/proceeding based on the best knowledge we had at the time...and to be kind to ourselves.
I hope this makes sense.
Becca 🌷
Do you have any?
I don't know if we can circumvent regrets, because we can always see a better way in hindsight, but what we can do, is accept that at that moment in time, we did the best we could and now, we know a little better for the next moment to arrive.
Your whole message above is what I meant to say, but didn't get the message across I guess. Sorry.
No, I have no tattoos personally, but a glitter unicorn? I could make an exception for that one I think.
Becca 🙃
When we look into past we have feelings about we didn’t do but could have done. However when we were actually facing the situation we made the choice that seemed right in the given circumstance and emotional status. In the current situation we often fail to see many things that we see later and then regret our past decision. There is no benefit of regretting. Taking the vision from the past if learn to see the future better that's a gain as well.
Yep, regrets are pointless, as there is nothing else we could have done in that specific moment.
True. It was perhaps the best that could be done
Deep thoughts Taraz! Thank you for mentioning
You are welcome.
There are tons of people that are heavily constrained by the environment they find themselve in.
'doing all we can in the moment'. That there is some solid advice
I wonder if people ever really break free - look at the people who make it out of the hood in sport or music, but never really make it out - they are still carrying their habits of the hood with them - just in case?
Good point. Yet there are those who grow up in the same environment and manage to completely abandon the mindset by sheer determination.
Until they expect the establishment to provide for them.