#193

There’s a quote I read recently that’s been echoing in my mind like a ticking clock:

“The definition of hell is: on your last day on Earth, the person you became meets the person you could have become.”

Ouch, that hurt!

Possibly a little morbid but it struck me. Like all good whispers, it wasn’t loud—it didn’t shout. It just parked itself quietly in the corner of my mind, waiting for me to pay it some attention.

And when I finally did, I had some questions.

What does it mean “the person I could become?”

Am I on a path towards that - or away from that?

What am I doing today that brings me closer…takes me further away?

It’s easy to feel like we’re already doing a lot. Life is full—meetings, responsibilities, kids, clients, calls, to-dos, groceries, inboxes, and calendars packed tight. We’re constantly busy becoming something. But are we becoming something probable or becoming something possible?

It reminded me of another whisper from earlier this year:

“Every action you take is a vote for the person you want to become.” – James Clear

What if the gap between who we are and who we could become isn’t made in big, dramatic leaps—but in small, consistent, barely noticeable steps?

The 'You' You Could Become

The person you could become may not be ‘more’ anything (though you might).

Perhaps you may be ‘less’ something.

More present or less distracted.

More courageous or less fearful.

More intentional or less accidental.

It’s rare that the person we could have become happens by accident.

It’s more usual that we become the person we could be through the accumulation of thousands of tiny, conscious choices.

And no one else has your exact path to get there.

So, a couple of gentle prompts…

• Who is the person you could become?
• Who is the person you dare become?
• What would they do that you currently don’t?
• What would they let go of that you still cling to?
• What’s one small action – today - that would move you towards the person you could become?

No sprinting required just shifting.

Gently. Deliberately. Maybe even silently.

Because you don’t need to see the whole version of who you could become.

You just need to take one step toward them.

And when you do, maybe they’ll start walking toward you, too.

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Cheers

Pete