The potential benefit of a tool is significantly different than its actual contribution to your life.

Take, for instance, the gizmo in your kitchen which you keep “just in case” you have company… and one of them wants a mojito… and you happen to have the ingredients on-hand.

Unless you’re a person who mixes mojitos on a regular basis, the gizmo will probably do nothing more than take up space. 

Marketing has done an outstanding job at convincing us of the potential of our buy-in. It’s not that we would ever need it, or even want it, but it might be useful one day. 

On that day, we’ll be thankful we had it. Also on that day, pigs will have sprouted wings.

Gym memberships are notorious for this tactic, selling you the potential health and fitness you’ll achieve for joining. The reality is they oversell memberships because they rarely get used.

What they always forget to tell you is going to gym is an intrinsic motivator and nothing they do can overcome inner resistance. To see it in action, visit a gym in January, then in March.

I struggle with the potential vs. actual in the classroom with the use of technology. The potential of bringing technology to each student is unprecedented and a positive disruption for education when the teacher and student have synergy on using it correctly.

Its actual contribution at the moment is nothing more than a distraction, loss of focus and weakening of basic skills. I am still dumbfounded at students who don’t bother looking at the red underlines (spelling errors) in their work before submitting it to me.

Potential is wishful thinking.

Only gravitate to the tools that will make a difference.