191: Why You Keep Falling For Their Potential Instead Of Who They Are

Ever caught yourself saying "when it's good, it's so good"? In this first episode of the 4-part Hard Truth Series, Sabrina breaks down why you keep falling in love with who someone could be instead of who they actually are — and why potential is just a placeholder for the grief you're avoiding. She dives into the neuroscience of the "prospective brain," the impact bias that keeps you chasing a fantasy, and the 13-year longitudinal study that explains why you lower your standards for the wrong people but can't appreciate the ones who actually show up. Sabrina gets vulnerable about her own patternsand gives you the exact reframe to stop confusing anxiety with connection. Plus, this week's tool: the Potential vs. Reality Audit, a two-column exercise to see whether you're in a relationship or a fantasy. If you've ever wondered why the available person feels boring or why you keep choosing people who need to become someone else for it to work, this one's for you. If you’re ready to slow down, trust your instincts, and break your old dating patterns, the Healthy Relationship Foundations Course walks you through it step-by-step HERE! If you’re serious about changing your dating patterns instead of repeating them, the Art of Going Slow course helps you unlearn urgency, regulate your nervous system, and build real connection without rushing, chasing, or abandoning yourself HERE! Get Ad free HERE! Want to work with Sabrina? HERE! Get merch for The Sabrina Zohar Show HERE! Don't forget to follow Sabrina and The Sabrina Zohar Show on Instagram and Sabrina on TikTok! Video now available on YOUTUBE! ============================= Chapters 00:00 Hard Truth Series Part 1 01:50 Gratitude & Setting Boundaries 04:59 What "I See Potential" Really Means 08:00 The Pattern Is the Real Them 11:08 Real Potential vs Fantasy Potential 15:54 Neuroscience of Dating a Fantasy 20:36 3 Questions Keeping You Stuck 25:51 Are You a Partner or a Fixer 28:21 What If They Change For Someone Else 33:47 Tool: Potential vs Reality Audit Disclaimer: The Sabrina Zohar Show, formerly known as Do The Work, is not affiliated with A. Z & associates LLC in any capacity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

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• 0:29Speaker 01

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• 0:59Sabrina Zohar?

  You're not actually in love with them, or even into this person. You're in love with who they could be, or who you want to believe that they could be. The version that shows up sometimes, the glimpse that you got on date three, the person they are when things are going well. And you've built an entire relationship around a highlight reel. And now you're devastated every time they show you the full footage. Because at the end of the day, you're not dating people. You're dating potential. And potential isn't a partner. That's just you projecting how you would either handle this, or the type of love you didn't get to receive as a child that you want them to step into. Hello, hello, hello! And welcome to another episode of the Sabrina Zohar Show. My name is Sabrina Zohar, and I am your host. Hello, babes! Welcome back. This is the first episode of a four-part Hard Truth series. And we're starting here because to me,

• 1:44Sabrina Zohar?

  this is the pattern underneath so many other patterns. And if you've just said, "Oh my God, but when it's so good, it's so good", then baby, this episode is for you. I love a series. Don't forget to rate and review the show. Share it with a friend. Guys, that is actually the most important thing that you could do. Rating and reviewing is so helpful to me, but sharing it, letting other people know about the show, it means the world. As always, guys, if you need anything, everything will be in the link in show notes. You can work one-on-one, join a course, take the new "What Type of Lover Are You?" quiz, and get some dating advice via email from me. Or just be here. I can't tell you how much that means. All right, babies, without further ado, let's get right on into it, shall we?

• 2:22Sabrina Zohar?

  Can I just say, and I want to start off with, I am so goddamn grateful for every single person that's here. I like, I don't think words can describe it. I'm coming off the high of being on Jay Shetty, if you guys haven't listened, please go listen, and being on Hot, Smart, Rich with Maggie Sellers, and just feeling this overwhelming feeling of love and community that we've built. Now, in the interim, have I still gotten trolls? Duh. It's new, there's always gonna be people that don't like you, that means you're doing something right. But I just, I don't know, I'm feeling just so much gratitude, and I really want to, for me, for me, I want to live in that, I want to show up as that. And so I'm trying, I hear you guys, I know my speech and my cadence is not for everybody. As always, you can slow down the show, you could do ad-free if you want, you don't have

• 3:07Sabrina Zohar?

  to listen, but I do hope that you guys see that when a sponsor sponsors the show, that means that they're saying they believe in me and the audience. And that is how I can keep showing up for you guys, otherwise I couldn't keep doing this. So I just wanted to say thank you, and I wanted to share with you guys that you are the reason I get out of bed. And I know that might sound really dark, and you're like, goddamn, all right, is that how we're starting the show? But genuinely, like, every morning when I wake up, I sometimes get really sad, and I get down, and I feel all of my fucking, my neurotransmitters that are a little off, but then I remember my why, and who I'm doing this for. And it's not just you guys, it's also for me. I'm doing this for my little, so that she could feel what it feels like to be herself in a safe space. And like I said, I get it, right? Like, I'm not for everybody, and that is so okay, but for the ones that are here for

• 3:52Sabrina Zohar?

  me, I see you, I hear you, and I fucking get it, and we're in this together. And I actually wanted to read a DM I got. And the reason I wanted to read this is because I think this is a really great way of how I explain to you guys, like, what setting of boundary really looks like in the moment. And so somebody had written and said, "You're perfect and amazing, all I want to say is, can you please talk a bit slower? It might be really hard for some people to catch your pace." And I said, "No, thank you. I appreciate you saying I'm perfect and amazing, but then following up with, 'But please change how you speak,' isn't accepting me for who I am. I have ADHD, and this is how I naturally speak. And on the podcast, you can slow it down, but if that doesn't work for you, that's okay. I encourage you not to change yourself for someone else, and I will be practicing doing the same. I truly wish you all the best." And the response was, I fucking love that response, I wish I could be like that, that was a big lesson for me.

• 4:37Sabrina Zohar?

  And the only reason I'm sharing that is because I very easily could have been like, "Change who you are. Change who you are, dude. Like, this is it. Nobody likes you." But I have to double down on, but I believe in me, and I believe in how I show up, and I believe that for the right people, I'm there. Remember, everybody is welcome, but it's not my job to keep people comfortable. And we have a lot of new people, right? Like, we have video now on Spotify. Hi. We get a lot of editorial now, and we're being pushed out. And so I know that some stuff might sound repetitive, or if you're like, "Bitch, I've heard this story," but I want us to remember that, like, we are bringing in new people into the community. And I was actually at a women in podcasting dinner last night. I have this beautiful group of amazing fucking women, and we just sat, and it brought me to tears when I came home, because I was like, "This is what I've been craving and missing, is community, is being able to be with people and hug them and see intonation

• 5:20Sabrina Zohar?

  and facial expressions." And I just hope that you guys feel that, too. That, like, this is, we're not stopping. We're only gonna keep going. The book is gonna be out now at this point, in a few months, by the time this happens. And we're only gonna keep building the community. So, thank you for being part of it, and thank you for truly being here as yourself and allowing me to as well. It really means the world. So, all right, let's get into it. I chose this episode, the potential and the idea of somebody, because I thought, you know, it's funny, I had the "In the Trenches" last month with Demona Hoffman, which, by the way, I did a poll on Instagram to ask, "Why don't you guys listen to 'In the Trenches' ?" Like, we see consistently it underperforms based on other episodes. And the number one thing was, "I don't like the titles. It doesn't pertain to me." And I don't know if you guys

• 6:02Sabrina Zohar?

  know that we answer four or five questions every episode. It's not just the one, but I have to come up with a title of, like, what is the overarching theme? And so I hope you guys enjoy it, and I hope you'll tune in, even if you don't like it. Marketers played. That helps more than you'll know. Really, what it was, was a lot of people were writing back of, like, "Hey, could you go further into this? Could you give me more?" So, baby, we got some really fun studies, and as always, there will be the tool of the week at the end. And I'm just fucking stoked. I really like this, and I'm answering a lot of your questions. As always, follow on Instagram at TheSabrinaZoharShow. Don't worry, it's coming right here. Don't forget, because then I, every week I post question boxes so that I can hear what you guys need, so I can meet you where you are, because I think that's really important. So, let's talk about what potential actually means, and I'm gonna give you some vulnerability

• 6:44Sabrina Zohar?

  today of what me and Ryan are going through, because I think it's important and I do not want to hide from you guys the realities of the relationship. So, when you say, "I see so much potential in them, I know they could be amazing if they just, the connection is there, they just need time, when they're present, it's everything I want," right? I hear it all the time, of like, "Well, when I'm with them, everything's great." And it's like, okay, but there's a grave disconnect from when you're with them versus not, and if we're having that type of disconnect, we have to start to get curious about like, what's coming up. And so, when I hear all those statements, what I actually hear is, who they are isn't enough, but who they could be is. And I'm dating a fantasy, I'm not actually dating the person, I'm more committed to their potential than they are, and I'm willing to wait for someone who doesn't yet exist.

• 7:26Sabrina Zohar?

  And I want that to seep in for a second, because I understand, when we're dating potential and the idea of somebody, oftentimes, we see it as, "They could be this when I'm done with them, they could be this if this," or, you know what the number one thing I hear? When we're dating somebody for potential and not actually who they are, what it really means is, "This is what it will do for me." It's not actually about the other person, because what's, finish the sentence, "If they showed up more, then I'd feel safe. If they communicated with me, then I'd feel heard." So, it's not really about them anymore, it's really about what it gives us and how this impacts us, which is very fucking human, but I do think we need to be honest about why you're staying. Is it really about them and what they could be, or is it about what it means about you?

• 8:10Sabrina Zohar?

  And I got a question that nails this. "How do I not invest in potential when I see the best in others and I want to still be open-hearted?" Seeing the best in people isn't the problem, that's actually really beautiful, the problem is when you see the best and ignore the rest. Open-hearted doesn't mean you need to be open to delusion, you can believe in someone and still require them to show up consistently, those aren't opposites, those need to come. You want to know how you build safety and trust in a relationship? When words and actions align. So, if you're believing in the best of people, but you're not actually seeing them for who they are, that's where you're gonna start to see the disconnect, because I could all but guarantee, there's a part of you that wants people to believe in the best in you and not assume the worst. And I get it, right? I know we often show up in ways that we wanted people to show up for us. But at the end of the day, we have to see who they actually are, not who we'd like them

• 8:53Sabrina Zohar?

  to be if they did X, Y, and Z. This one mindset shift literally changed the way I dated. The moments that we see the highlight reel, who they could be, how they could show up, those moments aren't the real them breaking through. The pattern is the real them. The inconsistency is the consistency. Instead of hoping that they change, we have to accept them for who they are in this moment. Because baby, when you were a kid, I know you might have hoped your parents changed, but they didn't. And we eventually had to come to the terms that who they are is who they are. Can people evolve and grow? Of course, absolutely. But what's involved with that? Therapy, doing the work, taking accountability, having hard conversations. It doesn't happen by giving them more of what they already don't appreciate, which is your love. Because eventually, I have to say, you're trying to get them to change. What does that mean about you?

• 9:38Sabrina Zohar?

  So now, I want to talk about why is potential so seductive? Right? Why are we falling for this? What is, what is coming up for us? And this is where some of the fun studies come in. Potential often will feel like hope, and hope is better than acceptance. And I, it's funny, I used to say to my mom, "I hope," and she would go, "I know." Because oftentimes, if you catch yourself saying, "I hope this happens, I hope they change, I hope they choose me, I hope they come back to me," what you're saying is, "I don't want to accept the reality of the situation." And hope gives you dopamine, because you don't actually have to look at what it is. You can hope that if you keep doing this, and if you keep trying, they will change. And I know that might have kept you safe in childhood, but that's maladaptive. You're not dating your mom and dad. This is somebody who is showing you off the bat that they're emotionally unavailable. It doesn't matter how much you love this person, that's not going to change them, because

• 10:22Sabrina Zohar?

  they have to be willing to do the work on themselves if they actually want to make growth and make real fucking progress. What does acceptance mean? This is who they are? They're showing me the truth, right? I have to make a decision based on reality, which means also I might have to leave. And potential lets you stay without feeling foolish. I, it lets you hope without acting, and the loophole is what keeps you stuck. One of you guys had asked, "Why do we fall in love with potential so much?" Because potential protects you from grief. And as long as you're focused on who they could become, you don't have to mourn who they actually are. You don't have to admit that this isn't working, that you have needs, that you'd rather somebody else or someone else show up. Potential is a delay tactic your heart uses to avoid pain. And so now I want you to start to get curious, what potential are you hoping for? Them, or the potential within yourself that maybe you can finally see them for who they

• 11:06Sabrina Zohar?

  are and let them fucking go? And I know, and I know it, why? Because I have done it. I want to talk to you guys about... The difference between potential that you can actually work with versus the potential that is really just shielding you against grief, right? Admitting that it's not working. My ex, right? The really biggie one, if you guys listened to the What Heartbreak Taught Me About on that episode. I always saw like, if I just do this, then he'll become this, or if this is, then this, right? If we have an if, when, then this, then that dynamic is what's going to keep you stuck in this problem and projection of the two of you. And I just genuinely believed if I loved this person hard enough, that maybe they'd eventually change for me.

• 11:49Sabrina Zohar?

  If I give them everything, if I make their life easier, if I give them all of the things that they didn't have, then they're gonna see that they can't live without me. But all that did was breed resentment and guilt and shame, and you know what it did above all? It made them respect me even less. Because if they were treating me so poorly and I was staying, what was that saying about me? What was that saying about how much I love myself or what I see in myself? And so here's the harsh fucking reality. The reason they keep doing it is because we keep allowing it. And I did. I did with my ex. And so now, when I met Ryan, I had to be honest with him and I said, "I'm holding on to potential here." And I was like, "You're telling me that you're gonna become more open and vulnerable and aware." But the difference was, I was okay leaving him. I was okay walking away. I still am.

• 12:34Sabrina Zohar?

  I have said this to him every single therapy session that we have together, that if we continue, great, that's because we're both choosing each other. And if not, if we realize at a time that like, "I'm a needy bitch." And like, I don't mean that in a rude way. I mean that in a way of like, "I have a lot of needs. There are things." And the reality of being in a healthy and secure relationship is that one partner might not be able to satisfy all of your needs. That is part of being in a healthy and secure relationship, is knowing that you have your needs met either yourself, or with friends, or in other groups. The problem becomes, when the needs that they're meeting still aren't satisfying what you need in the relationship. And part of being in a healthy and secure relationship is saying, "As much as I love you, I need to be more afraid of losing myself than I am afraid of losing you."

• 13:16Sabrina Zohar?

  Because I'm scared of losing you, then that means I'll do anything to keep you at the expense of me and what I actually fucking desire. That's why I'm always very clear, like, "I love Ryan, we're really working at it, we're doing all the work." But the potential that I see in him is that he can become this person with the right therapy, and he's got all of the, he's got all the tools, he's got everything he needs. Now, I look and say, "How are you showing up?" So that's the difference, right? If you're dating somebody and they're saying, "I'm doing a lot of work on myself. I'm really trying. I've got this stuff, but like, please just give me some patience." Okay, right? That's the potential that you're like, that's like saying when I, you know, if you meet somebody who's in medical school and you're like, "Well, I want somebody rich already." And you're like, "Okay, but they have the potential to become that version.

• 13:59Sabrina Zohar?

  You just need to give them a minute to grow into it." Versus, "Oh, they have the potential, because that's what I've projected onto them, but they've shown you nothing that they're actually going to do anything in order to reach that potential." That is the fucking disconnect and that is where we start to lose ourselves, hoping that this person can become something they just might not be. And I think that's the reality that we have to face. I want to, but it's really important for us. And so if you're dating somebody right now or you're in a relationship and the potential is, "Well, if they just stopped screaming at me after arguments, if they stopped walking out on me, if they just held space for me," like, those are biggies. Those are, what you're saying is that this person essentially just needs to be a different person for you to feel satisfied. Versus, they're doing the work, they're in therapy, they're catching themselves a lot quicker

• 14:44Sabrina Zohar?

  and I know that they're working towards it. Like, okay, I want to see progress. I don't need perfection. So now let's talk about the projection, right? What I keep saying, that you're not seeing them, you're seeing what you need them to be or who they want you to believe they are. Addicted is the word I use because I do think it's appropriate. When you're addicted to potential, you're not actually connecting with a person. You're connecting with the projection of that person or the curate version they've shown you. So what you do is you end up taking 20% of who they are, like, the good parts, and 80% of who you need them to be and you fall in love with that composite. Then you're heartbroken when they keep being 100% of who they actually fucking are. And that's why we have to say, "What is the, what can they actually step into?" Versus, "Who are they? What is their limitations,

• 15:27Sabrina Zohar?

  their capacity and their bandwidth?" So someone had asked... Why didn't I see the real him? All I saw was their potential. And I want you to hear me when I say this. You weren't stupid, you weren't naive. Your brain was doing exactly what brains do. So here's the neuroscience of writing the fiction. So there was a study done in 2017, Schacter and Addis. And it's called, discovered something called the prospective brain. So your brain uses the exact neural network to imagine the future as it does to remember the past. The medial prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the posterior cingulate all fire together. So what does that mean in like layman's terms? When you imagine who someone could be, your brain is literally constructing that person using fragments of memory, hope, and imagination. It's a fabrication that feels like perception. So your brain took a smile from date two, a deep conversation from date five, that

• 16:10Sabrina Zohar?

  one thoughtful text, and glued together a person who doesn't actually fucking exist. Then handed you this composite and said, here's who they really are. You're not seeing their potential, you're authoring it. And I think we often ask like, why? Why am I doing this? Why is the imagined version always what wins? So Gilbert and Wilson's research revealed the impact bias. Now this one, I thought was so interesting. We consistently overestimate how happy future events will make us and how long that happiness will last. So when you imagine being with someone's potential version, you picture the best moments, not the mundane reality. You imagine how you'll feel with the highlights, not the 10,000 ordinary hours. And you'll project a fantasy that real life could never match. This is why getting what you wanted often feels hollow.

• 16:52Sabrina Zohar?

  Because the imagined version was always better than any reality could be. Because you're not chasing a person, you're chasing your own imagination. And I've done that. I genuinely have. I have dated people where when I get to know them, I'm like, oh, you're not actually that great, right? And I get so many DMs from you guys, and I love you, I do. But a lot of the DMs revolve around, you know, like, oh, when we were together, everything's amazing. And like, when we first started dating, everything was great. And the reality is, you guys aren't necessarily even asking for advice, you're asking for permission to keep the fantasy. I can't give you that permission. Love doesn't require a highlight reel. Love requires two people that are choosing each other, two people that are willing to go through the uncomfortable conversations

• 17:37Sabrina Zohar?

  and to have those really deep, tough talks. And to be able to come out the other side and say, "Not only do we have conflict, but we regulated and we had repair." Because we're not tripping over the same fucking issue over and over again. Because at that point, then you are hoping and waiting on potential. You're not actually seeing them for who they are. If you can't actually get through a conversation, or an argument, or a disagreement, then this is no longer about, "Oh, they just need more therapy." I think what we have to look at is and say, "Who is this person? Is this enough for me?" That's a hard question. It's a really hard question. These three questions are what's keeping you stuck consistently in dating, and the potential of them. Instead of asking, "Who are they?", you're going to ask, "Who could they become?" Instead of, "Is this working for me?", you'll start to ask, "Could this work if they changed?"

• 18:21Sabrina Zohar?

  And instead of, "Am I happy?", you ask, "Would I be happy if they were different?" You've made your happiness contingent on someone else's transformation, and you don't control that, you never will. And one of you guys asked, "If they don't have the capacity and potential, why did they portray it in the beginning?" Because the beginning is an audition. Everyone can show up to an audition. The question is whether they can do the actual job, day after day, when nobody's watching, when it's not exciting anymore. Early effort is not a promise, it's a sample. And some people give great samples, but can't deliver on the full treat. And I think what we have to see is, "Why do you think I'm such a big proponent of go slow?" I have a client that is dating somebody, and after the first date, already was texting of like, "I could see all the potential, and we have the potential for a long-term relationship, and we could really be together."

• 19:05Sabrina Zohar?

  And I had to stop and go, "Based on what?" You see the potential in them, based on what? Based on one good date? Based on the fact that they were nice to a waiter? But when you see potential, what you're really saying is, "Here's how I would treat this situation, and here's how I would handle it." So because you did one nice thing, the white halo effect, right? The whitewashing? I'm just going to say then, "Everything will be amazing." And the potential that we see is, "Here's how I would act if I were in that situation." That doesn't necessarily mean that's how they will. If you're dating potential, and your response to me is, "But I can see who they are really underneath." No. You see who you want them to be, and you've decided that your version of them is more real than their actual behavior, because you're using fantasy as insight. If someone has to become a different person for the relationship to work, then the relationship doesn't work.

• 19:49Sabrina Zohar?

  I'm just going to hold space for a second. Because if the relationship can only work if they become, and I'll never forget, when me and my ex were going through the breakup, and I went to my friends, and they're married. Like 20 years. And they said, he said, "Do you love him?" And I said, "Yeah, but..." And he stopped me and he goes, "We're done with the conversation." I said, "Why? You didn't even let me finish." He goes, "Because you said but." And he goes, "You have to love this person for who they are." Of course, we can all grow and evolve and change. But if you're saying, "I would love to be in a relationship with them, but..." Or, "I could be in a relationship if they did this," then you're not actually dating who they are. You're dating who you need them to become in order for the relationship to actually work. That's why you're disappointed. Even if they became that, would it actually be enough? Or is your brain just projecting that fantasy? Because that's helping you to avoid the reality and giving you a dopamine addiction loop

• 20:34Sabrina Zohar?

  that you didn't even fucking realize that you were on. So, let's get to the important question. Why are you choosing potential over presence? Okay. This one. Now, this study was fascinating to me. If you've ever wondered why you fall for potential, this 13-year longitudinal study will answer that question. "When partners fall short of our ideals, we adjust our preferences downwards to accommodate them. But when partners exceed our expectations, we don't adjust our appreciation upwards." So what that means is you'll make excuses for someone who doesn't meet your standards, but you won't increase your gratitude for someone who surpasses them. This is why potential keeps you hooked. You keep lowering the bar to keep them in the picture. And why the people that are enough don't excite you. You're not wired to feel more when someone actually gives you more. I found that fascinating.

• 21:18Sabrina Zohar?

  I was like, "Whoa, wait a minute. That makes so much sense." We'll water ourselves down to accommodate other people, but yet we won't necessarily build ourselves up to meet and match where somebody else might be. We don't give enough appreciation. I hear that all the time. How many times? I'm like, "Wait a minute. All these amazing things that this person does, we're gonna completely throw out the window because I didn't fucking text you." And I know, I know, you're gonna be like, "Sab, are we going back on this?" For just a brief moment, because we do have new people that might not have heard my soapbox. But I want us to zoom out. I want us to zoom out and say, "If in a year after I'm dating this person, what other issues would I have besides what's happening in early dating?" So, if you're saying, "If I zoom out, then in a year, this person doesn't have hard conversations with me, this person gets uncomfortable when I bring things up, they don't have space for my emotions."

• 22:03Sabrina Zohar?

  So then what's gonna happen in a year? What makes you think that's gonna be any different? Versus, "We have a really great connection. I feel really good with them, but they just don't like to text a bunch." Okay, so in a year, when I'm living with this person, is that still going to be an issue? No. That right there is how you could differentiate between, "Is this potential I can actually work towards? Or am I hoping that this person has to become another version of themselves, or me, in order for this relationship to align?" Potential is safer than reality. When you have somebody that's real, that's present, the available people, they require you to show up too. There's nowhere to hide, there's no if only to retreat to. With potential, here's the harsh thing you guys have to hear. You can stay in your head instead of the relationship. You can focus on them instead of looking at yourself. You can blame their not being ready instead of asking if you are ready. And you always have an excuse for why it's not working.

• 22:48Sabrina Zohar?

  That's why I often say, "My anxious babies were also avoidant." And my avoidant babies were also anxious. Because it's humans. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you. But we have to start to reframe the questions that we're asking. We have to look and say, you know, that potential can't be a safety net that feels like a trampoline, right? It's like you're not bouncing you towards something. It's really just catching you every time. You almost have to commit, almost have to be vulnerable, almost have to risk being in something real. The net isn't helping you fly, it's stopping you from landing. And I know that personally, right? Like, I want us to also even look and say, "What does this mean about your identity?" I'm the one who doesn't give up. I'm the one who loves harder. I see people for who they really are. And I think that we see that as a badge of honor.

• 23:33Sabrina Zohar?

  And it's a superpower. But what if that superpower is actually keeping you from what you want? What if being the one who sees potential is just a sophisticated way of avoiding being seen yourself? When you're so focused on someone else's development, you don't have to focus on your own. You can just distract. And then pretend that that's devotion. And pretend that that's something it's not. Somebody who is, like, consistent doesn't give you a high. So there's no rush when they finally text you back. There's no relief when they choose you again. There's no victory when they show up after disappearing. The intensity of the makeup after the breakup. Consistency feels flat when you've been trained to expect drama. That's why people will say there's no spark and go back to chasing potential. You've confused the anxiety of uncertainty with the excitement of connection. And then you can't be so shocked when it doesn't, it just doesn't satisfy you. It leaves you empty.

• 24:18Sabrina Zohar?

  That's like saying, "I'm eating a bunch of junk food and wondering why I'm still hungry," versus "I'm eating a nice nourished meal." That's a lot less exciting, right? You don't get the sugar high. You don't get the up and down and the crash. You have stability. And for a lot of us, myself included, that's foreign. That's foreign. Oftentimes, the person that's enough can feel like settling. Because when someone shows up fully, there's no games, there's no guessing, there's no gaps to fill. It can feel like something's missing. What's missing is the project, the puzzle, the thing to figure out. And if you've built your entire identity around being the one who sees people's potential, who loves harder and who doesn't give up, then a finished product doesn't need you in the same way. Do you want a partner or do you want a project? And then what we have to look here as well is, is this my identity? Am I tying this that who are you if you don't have to fix them?

• 25:03Sabrina Zohar?

  Who are you if you don't have to fix this person? Who are you if you don't have to show up differently so that they could be this? And I see this martyring of like, well, at least I'm communicated and I'm trying and they're the avoidant and they're not doing anything. And all you're doing is you're betting on potential that if you love them harder, they're going to change. But you know what that's actually doing? You're avoiding as well. You're avoiding looking at yourself and saying, instead of us focusing on why aren't they doing this? Why are you staying? Maybe that we could start to get curious about because if they're the project that you're working on, you don't have to be the project that you get to focus on. And I get it, right? I know that there's fear. Duh, you're a fucking human. And this question kind of broke my heart a little bit that one of you guys asked, but I appreciate you asking. I still think that one day they're going to live up to their potential, but it'll

• 25:48Sabrina Zohar?

  be for somebody else. And this is the what if it was just me fear? And here's what I need you to hear. Even if they do show up differently for someone else, that doesn't mean you are the problem. It means the dynamic between the two of you didn't work. And more importantly, you can't build your life waiting for someone to become who they never were with you. That's not your story to write. The next person isn't getting anything that you didn't, baby. And at the end of the day, maybe that person doesn't trigger them in the same ways. Maybe that person holds space in a different way and maybe they just get along in a different way. That doesn't mean that there's something wrong with you. That just means that you haven't met your person yet. I remember with my ex, I was, I didn't recognize myself. I didn't, I didn't, I genuinely don't recognize myself. But after a while, I had to sit and say, wait a minute. Maybe it's really that we're just not right for each other, that we're just triggering

• 26:32Sabrina Zohar?

  each other in a way that's not healthy. That's not actually something that we can work through because now I have a partner who I don't feel that with. I don't feel like I'm losing my shit. I don't feel like I'm off constantly on edge or trying to understand them. I feel like I have a partner that shows up. Now we have to see if we're both able to show up for that for each other. Right, that's, that's welcome to relationships. But it was a hard, it was a hard one for me. It was because I always, I always banked on potential. Like you guys know about the, oh, for anyone the new you don't, but I have this hot guy that I used to be obsessed with when I lived in Venice in 2021. It was about the potential of him. Well, he could be this, right? He's already cool, smart and handsome. So like, if he just was more emotionally available, then we'll be great. If he's more emotionally available... Are you fucking kidding me?

• 27:15Sabrina Zohar?

  You mean, I have to pretty much change this person and how they handle and receive things for them to work for me? Baby, that's not gonna work. And that's why I kept getting stuck on the idea of them, but I wasn't actually into who he is. Because you know who he was? He is not a very nice person. He would avoid every deep conversation. He got super uncomfortable. He would buoy everything back to shallow. And the only reason I was obsessed with this guy is because of what it meant about me.

• 27:38Sabrina Zohar?

  Yeah, he was a nice guy. He was cute and we had a good time, but I can find a lot of other people I can have a good time with. Okay, can we talk about what to do about it? Because I'm gonna give you the tool of the week. But somebody had asked, how do we differentiate between liking potential versus the actual person? If nothing about them changed from this moment forward, would I stay? Not, could I learn to be okay with it? Not, would I stay if they tried harder? If this version, the one in front of you right now, was the final version, would you choose? If your answer requires them to become different, you're in love with potential. If your answer is yes to who they are today, then that's the actual person. I'm not saying that you cannot grow and evolve into becoming a more evolved human, but do they have that skill set?

• 28:19Sabrina Zohar?

  Or is this mean that like, they need to drastically change everything about how they handle hard conversations? Oh my God, it broke my heart. Somebody had written an email. I'm never gonna give anything away about it, but the person spoke so terribly to them. Oh my God, called them names and was attacking them and bringing them down. And their response to me was, do you think if I stay that things will change because I love them? And I don't wanna, I'm scared.

• 28:46Sabrina Zohar?

  And I said, honey bear, there's no amount of loving this person that's gonna change them. It doesn't matter how hard you try and how much effort you put into this. That person sounds like they got a long way to go. Now, could they change? Oh, that could take years. I, I don't have a crystal ball. I can't answer that. But you know what I will say? That sometimes too much has happened. And sometimes that part of them is a little too severe for us to be able to look the other way. So I want you to start to pay attention. I want you to stop tracking what they say they'll do, who they are on their best days, the version that shows up when they're trying to win you back. And I want you to start tracking what they consistently do without being asked. Who are they when things are boring, hard, or inconvenient? The version that shows up when they think you're not going anywhere. That pattern is truth.

• 29:29Sabrina Zohar?

  The expectations are the exceptions. And another question that came up a lot is how to see the person as is and not as their potential. This is the discipline, and it's hard. It's a lot harder, honestly, than it sounds because your brain will fight you the whole time. The brain wants to fill in gaps. It wants to protect, and it wants to project, and that's what it does. So you have to build structure. You have to create checkpoints that force you back into reality, and that's what we work on in the courses and all of these different things that I have, or with your therapist. Like, please know that these options are there for you. You can work with me, whatever. Or just talk to your fucking therapist about this. But the actual frameworks for interrupting this pattern is in real time, and the first step is naming it, right? Catching yourself in the act. The reframe. Instead of "they just need more time, support, and the right person", they're showing me what they're willing to give me right now. Or instead of "when it's good, it's so good",

• 30:14Sabrina Zohar?

  the pattern is the truth, the good moments are the exception. So let's get into the tool of the week, what we can actually do tangibly. The potential versus the reality audit. This is simple, but it will mess you up in the best fucking ways, and I can't wait. I want you to make two columns. The first column, who I believe they could be. I want you to write down all the good things you're hoping for or the glimpses of, right? Then in the second column, who are they consistently showing me they are? Write down only repeated behaviors, not a one-time thing. It's not about that one time that they were... Okay, well, they were really stressed, they apologized, it's never happened again. That's not what we're talking about. But if every time I bring something to them, they shut down, they don't have the bandwidth, they call me, I'm saying I'm too needy, they call me crazy, they say I'm too much. Okay, that's a pattern. That's repeating. Now I want you to look at both columns.

• 30:59Sabrina Zohar?

  Which person are you in the relationship with? If you're more attached to column one than column two, you're not in a relationship, you're in the fantasy, and fantasies don't love you back, baby. The audit is just the starting point. It's just the starting point. If you want to go deeper on what to do with what you find, how to actually rewire and build and do the work, right? Then come join one of the courses. But start here. Start with seeing clearly what it is that you like. Then we can even start to understand, is this a fantasy I've had before? Is this a pattern I've had? Right? It's not just their patterns. What about mine? Are my patterns that I consistently go for people that don't have the bandwidth that what I require? And then I keep being shocked when I'm so tired and exhausted? That's on me. And then we could start to understand, how do I break these patterns and loops and things like that?

• 31:43Sabrina Zohar?

  But I want you to hear me when I say that potential isn't love. It's just a placeholder, right? You're just, you're prolonging the inevitable. But what you hold on to in reality isn't giving you what you need. You can't build a life with potential. You can't wake up to next to potential. You can't co-parent with potential. You can't grow old with someone's highlight reel. You deserve someone who shows up as a whole fucking person, not a project. You're not a fixer-upper. This isn't a fucking house that you're investing in. It's not someone you have to decode or develop or wait for. We gotta stop falling in love with who people could be and start paying attention to who they actually are. Because the person who's right for you won't require your imagination to fill in the gaps. They'll be there, fully and consistently. And that's not settling. That's the whole fucking point. Potential keeps you hooked on a dopamine loop. Because when we hope, we release dopamine

• 32:28Sabrina Zohar?

  because we're not actually having to grieve the ending and the reality. You're allowed to be sad. You're allowed to be sad that this didn't work. You're allowed to wish that they could be different. I have had so many people, but that's why I hate if the right person, wrong time. No. Because I have a guy that I had so much potential. Oh, my God. I'd talk about that with my mama and she always said, baby, but if you were focusing on what if, you're not looking at what is. And I remember telling her that and she goes, Sap, you're saying that this guy has to be a different person for him to work out for you. And she wasn't wrong. And you know what? Never spoke to him again. So imagine if I held on to him. And I've shared you the story that when I reached out to him like eight months later and he was so flippant. And I was like, what am I doing? What am I doing? You deserve more than that. You deserve someone that's gonna show up for you fully. I see that. I just need you to. All right, babies.

• 33:14Sabrina Zohar?

  That's it. That's the hard truth is that potential is an addiction and we gotta start breaking that loop so that you could see people for who they are and then decide if that works for you, but taking them for who they are, right? Like with Ryan, when I would tell him something, he would then implement it. And I was like, okay, so who this person is is growth minded? They're willing to take feedback. But if I told him stuff and he just kept doing the same thing, I would never have fucking wasted my time because that's what it would have been. A waste of my time. I love you guys. Don't forget, please, please to share this with a friend. That means more than you could know. Put it in your Facebook groups. Let the world know that I exist and that you exist and that we exist in this community. Please don't forget rate and review, leave a comment, even if it's just a heart, it means the world. And like I said, if you guys want ad free, you can. You don't have to bitch about it in the fucking comments. You could just not listen or subscribe or

• 33:58Sabrina Zohar?

  choose a different community. But god damn, am I tired of having to fucking change who I am to make other people comfortable. And that is what I hope you will understand. Because imagine if people said Sabrina has the potential to be this if she just stopped cursing and spoke slower and all this. And you're like, fuck you. Who says I want to live up to that potential that you have deemed for me? Not you, the proverbial you. But I think that's a really important aspect here. And so like I said, guys, I'm here for you. If you need anything, everything's at the link in show notes. And if not, thank you for being here. All right, babies. I'll see you next week for hard truth number two. And I can't wait. Until next time, baby.

• 34:43Speaker 00

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• 35:11Speaker 03

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