As I sit through my Wednesday morning class, I listen to my professor’s speech on how much potential for improvement she sees in us after grading our assignments. Her serious and almost pitiful tone makes it clear that this is not good news. I, for once, wish she didn’t see any potential at all.

The phrase I’ve probably heard the most in my life is “You have so much potential.” From childhood drawings to college admissions, having “so much potential” has followed me into most of the decisions I’ve made. It feels like a curse—a burden that I do not want to carry. The negative connotation that comes with “potential” begs me to act on it. If I have it, then I must do something about it. It forces me into a “greatness” I do not want nor choose.

I keep catching myself pondering the benefits of throwing my potential in the trash and “wasting” it away. Here are my favorite ways to do just that—and live a life based on more than external accomplishments.

1. I waste my potential by sitting at Washington Park on a Thursday evening gossiping with my friends and lying on the grass. We ignore the readings we’re supposed to do as we watch the sunset.
2. I waste my potential by spending hours on the phone talking with my mom, ranking our favorite childhood snacks. “Ice cold Coca-Cola,” she answers every time—also my number one.
3. I waste my potential by playing with my dogs in the backyard. They bark loudly when I throw their stuffed animals so they can fetch them. It sounds like they’re celebrating.
4. I waste my potential by not posting all of my most extraordinary accomplishments on LinkedIn. Guess I was too busy living them.
5. I waste my potential by letting life catch up to me and feeling the consequences of the world we live in. It’s okay to be scared for not knowing what the future holds, especially in the middle of never-ending wars and conflicts that claim the lives of innocents more and more every day.
6. I waste my potential by being human and needing a break. But the kindness, compassion and capacity for love that comes with “being human” are the greatest gifts I could carry. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.