Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Let's talk about the word 'potential'
bestoftheblogs.com: In the world of pro sports, it's used most often as a bet-hedger by general managers, who see raw talent in a player whom they also think lacks the discipline or other psychological necessities to be a star at the top pro level. See Johnny "JFF" Manziel in college football. See the idea of "phenom" among baseball scouts. (That's you, Clint Hurdle, though you're doing more and more to redeem yourself as a manager.)
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2 comments:
I've never really known how to respond to anyone who's told me I have "great potential." I take it to mean that I'm not good enough, but I can get there with hard work. I have to take it that way, or else it's a backhanded compliment with no faith placed in my abilities.
I think that potential is a dangerous word used to give false hope or to sugarcoat a failure. But potential can also be dangerous in that it is used as a crutch of some sort. As long as one has potential, there is some hope for them in the world.
I used to use potential as a crutch. I try to now take it as a light criticism with some faith in my future. Otherwise what little hope I originally had is lost.
The word "potential" is actually one of my favorite words! I'm the kind of person who likes to see potential in everything. This means that everything has the opportunity to be the best that it can be. The challenge then becomes is it reaching its full potential. Many times when I see a production I think it is good, but it did not reach its full potential. This means that it has the capability to go to the next level, but didn't. Looking at the world in terms of potential instead of how much they suck also channels a better positive energy.
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