Ever heard of the Antikythera mechanism? It’s an intricate box filled to the brim with precise, interconnected gears that was used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses, dated somewhere between 200-60 BC.

An impressive piece of engineering, even by modern standards, and it took about 1400 years for similarly complex mechanisms to appear. Did the ancient Greeks know what they were dealing with? If only they got their act together and continued to develop this analog computer... I could be sipping some sweet holo-tea on my Martian ranch at this point!

What if we’re making the same mistake? What if there’s something in our lives that could become so much more, if only we were to put in the work? Time for one of the sexiest activities you can do as an adult: creating a list! A list of your untapped potential to be precise.

Let’s start at the base: your personality traits. Begin by writing down the characteristics that make you you. Calm, caring, impulsive, creative, analytical, always the coolest person in the room?

Done? Then the next step is to take each of them and think about how you could utilize this particular trait. Do you love making kids smile? How about volunteering for an organization that supports the local youth?

Next up: Where are you located? Don’t send me your address, I have better things to do than stalking you. Think about the possibilities that your current home base brings with it. Living in a big city goes hand in hand with certain advantages that a more rural setting doesn’t, and vice versa. I’m currently living in Vienna, and I have a long list of communities I want to explore while I’m here.

How about your hobbies? Which ones do you have, or used to have? And what might happen if you spend a little more time and energy on them? Could you take some to the next level and create a career around them? Or enjoy them a heck of a lot more if you manage to free up some time each evening?

On a similar vein: Got any skills? I guess you learned something at some point in your life. Write down all of them (yeah, like in a CV) and think about how you could put them to use, or what you could achieve if you maxed them out.

By now, you probably got the idea. Continue with your social network, your friendships, and relationships. Where could you take them? Any other ideas, dreams, and crazy ambitions? Collect all of them and take some time to flesh out a few options of what they might turn into.

However: You don’t need to realize any of that potential. It might still be useful and inspiring to keep these options in mind, just in case. If you’re happy where you’re at right now, don’t feel pressured into “making the most of yourself” by all the hustle culture vibes you’ll encounter online, my posts included. In the end, the ancient Greeks might have been smarter than I gave them credit for. Maybe they knew what was coming if they continued down that path opened up by their analog computer. “More clockworks, industrialization, factories, magical black mirrors, nah thanks. But hey, can you draw a picture of me and my naked furry friends getting lit? Awesome dude!