I figured that it's actually counterproductive to spend too much time dwelling on potential(s) without grounding yourself in present reality.
Like go check out what the mansion could be, but just check and get back to reality instead of trying to build the mansion in "potential land," which never quite works because potential without action remains forever hypothetical.
Too much is when you're always perpetually high on what life could be instead of what it actually is, in the sense that you become addicted to the dopamine rush of imagined futures and neglect the concrete steps needed to bridge the gap between potential and reality.
It is a strong human tendency to get ahead of ourselves, go on an all-out attack and score as many goals as possible in our imagination before we've even stepped onto the field.
Mentally spend the lottery winnings before buying the ticket and plan the victory speech before running the race.
I think this tendency usually comes from a deep-seated fear of inadequacy in the present moment.
The Someday Syndrome
Say, I imagine the confident version of myself giving presentations while dodging the networking event happening tonight because the reality of awkward small talk and potential missteps seems overwhelming compared to the flawless scenario in my head.
We flee to potential because current reality feels too small, too flawed, or too slow, too whatever that's makes it a uncomfortable confrontation with our current limitations.
Arguably, the best way to escape from whatever one is trying to escape from isn't to run as far away as possible from it but to turn around, face it head on and crush it into nothingness.
The former is like trying to outrun your own shadow and could be another way to exemplify this popular quote that "you can run but cannot hide."
Your current problems follow you like faithful companions no matter how far you travel into potential futures.
The latter however could take a really long time to yield results, as it is like been given a puzzle to solve with only a few pieces on sight.
I'm personally beginning to realize that the man in the mirror holds both my greatest obstacle and my most powerful ally.
Every external problem I'm trying to solve through elaborate future scenarios usually has roots in my present choices, habits, and mindset.
The mansion I dream of building in "potential land" never gets finished because I haven't yet finished laying the foundation in "actual land", and that foundation is always internal work(lots of it) that can only happen now.
Diluted Reality
In recent years, escapism has become incredibly sophisticated and accessible, offering near infinite worlds to lose ourselves in so much so that the lines between lived experience and imagined realities is very razor thin.
It's always a bit amusing for me to hear a cousin of mine who's also a gamer narrate how he feels more of himself when playing PUBG than in his own skin during family gatherings.
I'm not sure how really it was during the olden days other than there weren't many routes to escape from reality without dire consequences in a relatively short amount of time.
Survival itself was a constant, undeniable anchor to the present moment. Since there wasn't much room for sustained fantasy when the daily grind of farming, hunting, or community survival demanded your full, unadulterated attention.
Not much is the case in today's world, as the grounding has been dramatically diluted partly by the sheer volume and accessibility of digital distractions.
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