What is meeting your potential? Being all that you can possibly be? Who other than the Army in their old commercials does that? It is very unlikely that everyone who has all the snappers and meets all the criteria will turn out to be a doctor, a professional athlete, or an astronaut. Please notice, I did not say lawyer. Sorry John. Sorry Jason. There is more than hard work involved. Luck and money are two huge factors.
Teachers have cornered the market on the phrase, “I do not think your child is meeting their potential.” Hypocrites! All of them! Did they meet their potential? Could they have possibly been more? Who determines what potential is? Is it a dollars driven concept? If money is not involved, is it driven by your impact on the world? Why can it not be the profound happiness we bring to our own surroundings? Our children, our family? What a downer to spend your life thinking things like: If only I would have practiced more; If only I had studied harder; If only I had worked harder. Look, there are only so many people named Pete Rose, Jackie Robinson, Lance Armstrong, and Larry Bird out there. The rest of you need to be happy with what you have accomplished and get over it.
What does it mean to have exceeded your potential beyond what you should have? How is that possible? Are we talking about when you accomplish things that you should not have been able to accomplish? Are we confusing the term potential with expectation? Is it just semantics, or glorification of an accomplishment to make yourself sound like you have done more with less? Only Marines can do that.
What sort of potential does an inmate have once they are released? Is it entirely up to them? Will they be subjected to the new expectations that our society has for ex-cons? Will they be given the full opportunity of a second chance? When do they really stop doing time?
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