Nobody Wants Your Potential: We Want Proof

Let me say this gently, but not too gently:

Your potential doesn’t mean shit if we never see it.

Yeah, I know, harsh. But someone had to say it. You’ve been riding on the fumes of what you could become for so long, it’s starting to look like self-delusion. The thing about self-delusion? It doesn’t just hurt you. It wastes the time of everyone betting on your growth while you stall in place.

Because hear me out, we’re not rooting for the “idea” of you. We’re waiting for the evidence.

I’ve been that guy.

The one with ‘plans’.

Always talking about the project that’s “almost ready.”

Always promising that one day I’m gonna “lock in.”

Romanticizing ambition like it’s a personality trait.

But after a while, people stop clapping for your potential.

They stop asking what you’re working on.

They stop trusting your timelines.

Not because they don’t care.

Because they’ve been here before with you.

Potential is cute in your early 20s.

By your late 20s and 30s, it starts looking like emotional credit card debt.

You’re borrowing belief from people who’ve already overextended themselves trying to love the future version of you.

Eventually, they want receipts.

Not promises. Not playlists. Not Pinterest boards or private Notion pages with “vision” at the top. They want real action. They want follow-through.

They want to see that you value your life enough to stop treating it like a draft folder.

Listen, I’m not saying you need to have it all figured out. You don’t need to be rich. You don’t need to have a blue check or a six-figure launch or a five-year trajectory.

But if you say you’re a writer, I better see something written.

If you say you’re building something, I better hear it hammering.

If you say you’re serious about your growth, I betterfeel it in your presence, not just your posts.

The bare minimum isn’t impressive anymore.

Everyone’s “working on themselves.” Everyone’s “trying.”

Be the person who finishes something.

Because whether you admit it or not, that woman who believed in you?

That friend who kept reminding you how talented you are?

That version of yourself who saw the vision before life got loud?

They’re tired of the excuses.

They want proof that you weren’t just performing effort.

They want to see you mean it.

Potential isn’t loveable.

It’s hopeful. It’s hypnotic.

But it’s not enough.

We fall in love with glimpses. But we stay in love with consistency.

We’re not looking for the person whomight be something one day.

We want the person who’sbecoming it now.

So this is your wake-up call.

Not to be perfect. Not to be fast.

But to bein motion.

This is the season you prove it.

To her. To him. To them. Toyou.

No more hiding behind who you could be.

Be the person who delivers.

We need proof.

Written by Ajani Brathwaite