"You can have all the markers of success-the steady job, the decent apartment, friends who think you're crushing it-and still feel like you're playing life on easy mode when you know you could handle expert level. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, especially after a conversation with someone who, from the outside, looked like they had everything figured out. Good career, great relationship, traveled regularly. But over drinks, they admitted they felt like they were sleepwalking through their own life."
""Everyone thinks I'm doing great," they said, "but I know I'm capable of so much more." That stuck with me because I've been there. After selling my first company at twenty-seven-a mobile app that helped small businesses manage appointments-everyone congratulated me on "making it." But I knew the truth. I'd been coasting on maybe 60% of my actual capacity, settling for comfortable wins instead of pushing for uncomfortable growth."
"If your browser history is filled with "How to start a..." articles but your actual life shows no evidence of starting anything, you might be stuck in preparation mode. It's the most socially acceptable form of procrastination because you can always say you're "getting ready" or "doing your homework." I spent an entire year reading productivity books and taking online courses about entrepreneurship before realizing something uncomfortable: I was using self-improvement content as a way to avoid"
Many people present external markers of success—steady jobs, decent apartments, positive social feedback—yet feel they are underperforming relative to their true capacity. Feeling capable of more coexists with comfort-driven choices and small, safe wins. Common behaviors include perpetual preparation without action, using research and self-improvement as socially acceptable procrastination, and relying on outward validation while avoiding uncomfortable growth. Personal anecdotes illustrate selling a company yet sensing only 60% effort. Recognition of these patterns is the first step toward shifting from comfort to challenge and initiating concrete projects rather than endless preparation.
Read at Silicon Canals
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