Have you fulfilled your potential?

I don't suppose anyone's going to come on here and say I've done a fantastic job and completely fulfilled my potential'. Modesty is a Gran thing but I bet there are people reading this who have led really interesting lives and helped other people in all sorts of ways. This could range from quietly bringing up a happy family (easier said than done) to feats of bravery and all points in between. Even if life hasn't gone well, will people not have learned from it? Is that a kind of fulfillment?

I often wish I hadn't been sucked into the 'marry young, have children, support your husband with his career' ethos but then I wouldn't have had them so it can't have been all bad.

Similar to others. My life has been a series of generally happy accidents, not well planned. When i was in my 50's I was disapointed that i had not achieved more, but stress was the limiting factor for me.
Now when I look back I am content with my life, we have lovely children/grand children, our health, a roof over our heads and money left over at the end of the month.

Sounds like you've done an awful lot to me, Galen

Just feel that reaching the end of my life, I should have done more! Don't know what , but?

You are not alone Galen, I certainly feel like that, but I have stopped beating myself up on this one as I have realised everyone would need several lives to fulfil their potential and that often the information you need to understand your own capacity comes after the possibility to do so.

I also know that health and energy levels put a break on some of the things I now have time to do. Life's a b.... really but don't let it get you down.

I feel the same. Some of it is because of not having the same self-knowledge when I was sixteen as I have now. I made the 'mistake' of taking the advice of people who thought they knew what was best for me, with the best possible intentions on their parts, but they were wrong. I didn't have the confidence at sixteen to insist on my choices. However, I did learn from this and hopefully my daughters benefited. Hey ho.

I used to think that, but then I thought - I have had a really quite exciting life, what the hell. I may not be a millionaire or done all the things I dreamt of, but I like my life.

No, I don't think you're alone, Galen. I find myself frequently thinking of that saying "at the end of your life you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the things you did". I think there are many in my case