A sun slow to rise—
Not because the sky resists,
But because it waits.
There was a morning—not long ago—when I woke up with a heavy feeling in my chest. Not exhaustion, not sadness, but something quieter. A dull ache of knowing.
Knowing that I was capable of more. Knowing that there were things I had dreamed of doing, places I had imagined going, versions of myself I had once believed in. And knowing, with absolute certainty, that I was not chasing any of them.
The world outside was moving. The city was waking up. Somewhere, someone was taking their first steps toward something bold. Somewhere, someone was starting.
And yet, I remained still.
Not because I couldn’t move, but because I didn’t.
Because settling is easy. Because waiting feels safe. Because the lie we tell ourselves—that there’s always more time—feels almost true.
Until it isn’t.
The Pain of Wasted Potential
There is nothing more haunting than knowing what you are capable of and choosing not to pursue it.
It is a slow kind of suffering. A quiet, creeping regret that builds in the spaces between ordinary days. It’s the feeling of waking up with the weight of unrealized potential, of knowing that you could do more, be more—if only you started.
But most people don’t.
Not because they lack talent. Not because they don’t have time. But because chasing potential means risk.
To chase it, you must face your own limitations.
To chase it, you must accept the possibility of failure.
To chase it, you must let go of the comfortable, the predictable, the illusion of certainty.
And so, most people don’t.
They push it to the back of their minds. They silence it with distractions. They tell themselves they’ll start tomorrow.
But tomorrow has no loyalty.
It does not wait for you to be ready.
The Fear of Beginning
Starting is terrifying.
Because the moment you start, you can fail. The moment you admit what you want, you risk not getting it. It’s easier to live in the idea of potential than to actually test it.
But unrealized potential is not safety. It is slow decay.
It is a mind that stays sharp but never builds anything.
It is a heart that longs for more but never moves.
It is a life that feels full on the surface but empty underneath.
To begin is not to risk failure—it is to risk becoming.
And that is a risk worth taking.
Lessons in Chasing Your Own Name
- Potential means nothing if you do not chase it.
- Waiting for the perfect moment is waiting forever.
- Comfort is seductive, but nothing grows there.
- The fear of failing is smaller than the pain of never trying.
- You are already running out of time.
That morning, I stood by my window and watched the world move. The sky had shifted from deep blue to pale gold. Somewhere, a door opened. Somewhere, someone took their first step toward something unknown.
And I asked myself:
If I knew I had one life—just one—would I keep waiting? Would I keep sitting here, staring at my own potential like it was something separate from me?
Or would I move?
The air smelled like the start of something. Like first steps. Like change.
I took a deep breath.
And I moved.
life 
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