Am I dating Him or His potential?

I am learning to let go of dating a guy for his potential. I didn’t think I was one of those girls who saw potential in a guy and fell for his potential. That was until I recently discovered that’s exactly what I’ve done in my current situation.

There is a guy I can’t get out of my mind. I fell for this guy before I even realized I was falling for him. We met through social media and I really liked his vibe. He had this confident swagger, but was humble at the same time.

When I finally meet him in person I still didn’t realize I wanted more from him until a situation presented itself and I took it.

I fell for his potential and jumped into his bed. Mistake number one.

SPOILER ALERT: I’ll discuss mistake number two later this week

As I got to know him more, I realized the potential I saw so clearly was the small glimpses of him being his true self. No public persona or emotional wall, but just a man who is supportive, caring, trustworthy and looking for someone to be all those things and not abandon him.

Interestingly he wrote a post today saying “love me for who I am or let me go.”

I do care deeply for the person he is today. However, if I stayed, I would be staying for the potential of greatness I see in him.

That wouldn’t be fair to him or myself to date him for his potential. I would hate to start faulting him for not working hard enough in my eyes to be his authentic self. Or worse, hating myself because I settled for less while he goes through his journey of finding himself.

I deserve more than potential. So, today no more waiting as it’s time to let both him and his potential go.