II/III — POTANSİYELİN AĞIRLIĞI

Have you ever met a child “with potential”?

A child whose words, posture and behaviour make you think, “This kid will go places,” despite how young they are? It’s easy to predict where they’ll go; you could tell these kids how, too. You could ask first whether they actually want that.

Good at football: “They’ll be a footballer.”
Good at maths: “They should become a doctor or an engineer.”
Confident, creative: “They’ll start their own business.”

Destination set. Calculating route.

When you’re good at something, it feels good to be complimented, to be appreciated. Someone knows you for that quality, notices you.

You’re seen.

You like it. It makes you happy. Then you hear the same thing again. And again. And again.

And at some point, that quality stops belonging to you; it becomes a label you have to maintain. An obligation you have to fulfil.

To be seen, you have to look the part.

But you can’t come across the same way 24/7.

“You’re so much fun.” Thank you. But will you sit with my sadness too?
“You’re so smart.” Thank you. But if I make a mistake, will you be disappointed?
“You’re so beautiful.” Thank you. But will you still think so when I don’t put effort into it?
“You’re so strong.” Thank you. But if I need help, will you still be there?

No, I do mean thank you.

Really.

For your kind words.

But perhaps the weight of some kind words only reaches you later.

I think I’ve spent a long time comparing myself to where I could be, rather than where I am.

And when you look at it that way, what you’ve “done” can never exist on its own.

What you could do is always there too.

The person I am and the person I could be.

Where I’ve arrived and where I could go.

And sometimes that distance I haven’t covered can make the whole journey I’ve made invisible.

Potential.

Even the word itself holds something that hasn’t happened yet.

A possibility.

Stored energy.

Then movement.

Kinetic.

The energy of motion.

On paper, at least.

Friction.

Because sometimes there are circumstances. Time. People. Exhaustion. Wrong decisions. Even the right decisions have consequences I didn’t expect. My own limits. Things I can’t change...

And friction doesn’t destroy energy.

Heat.

Sound.

Deformation.

Character development?

Because sometimes the journey itself produces something too.

So what’s the output of this equation? What has all this effort led to?

KPI.

Am I where I thought I should be, at the age I thought I should be there?
Do I have a respected career?
Is the money I earn enough to say I’m successful enough?
Am I happy?

Verification: Am I doing it right?

Validation: Or am I doing the right thing?

Recalculating route.

“Selin will go places.”

In 200 metres, your destination will be on the right.

What counts as “going places”?

You have reached your destination.

And when I get there, will I know I’ve arrived?