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Why Your Potential Terrifies You
“As we advance in the spiritual life and in the practice of systematic self-examination we are often surprised by the discovery of vast unknown tracts of the inner life of the soul. They seem like great plains stretching out in mystery and wrapt in mists that sometimes for a moment lift, or sweep off and leave one looking for one brief instant upon great reaches of one’s own life, unknown, unmeasured, unexplored” — Basil William Maturin
The awe that I feel staring at a mountain range is simultaneously inspiring and terrifying. These great heights! I’m a mere speck in the face of these solemn giants. It’s a strange feeling. To be moved and frightened, as if the urge of empowerment is struggling to find a place in my noodle of a brain.
Isn’t this the same feeling that you feel when you are called upon to do something beyond your potential? It’s that similar sense of awe — this majestic unknown. A job promotion. An academic opportunity. Being there for your loved ones in a time of crisis. A partner that you feel undeserving of. Can you do it? Can you take on such a task? It’s…
