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We’ve been taught that we need to use all our potential but if you don’t gain from it, even spiritually, I truly don’t see the point.
Do what makes you happy as long as others don’t get hurt. For a lot of people, that conveniently happens to involve helping others. If that isn’t yours, then just keep looking until you find it.
You are the only one in control of what you deem “realized potential”.
I can dig this. How do you break that cycle of thinking? That it's acceptable to not capitalize on your potential. Is this in the vein of "life is what you make it?" I'm not making anything with my life.
But that’s just it. Whether you’re a gamer killing time at home or a monk in a cave at the top of a mountain meditating, or a frontline Red Cross Volunteer or a treacherous villain, ultimately, if you’re not actively hurting others, you are the only standard you have to measure yourself by.
Who’s to say what you’re supposed to make? If you’re supposed to make. We’re all just animals at the end of the day.
You might try looking into Taoism. 365 Tao is how I got started, meant to be read one page a day. It’s what redirected my energy. It teaches that the ultimate state of being should feel effortless and that there is a path within that will comfortably guide you to happiness and it’s all about finding that path for yourself.
The less you use the world as a measuring stick for yourself, the less you will feel like you don’t measure up.
I've been passively studying stoicism for the pest few years, and while some of the strategies meant for dealing with certain aspects of my psyche (like envisioning a stop sign when feeling triggered), others sound a bit too defeatist to me. Committing oneself to any singular concept is the fall of man, so I'll definitely look into Taoism after your recommendation. Thanks!