High-Potential: A Ferrari in a Country Where Everyone is Born a Golf

I have to tell you: I’ve started a « high-potential screening ». We also use gifted, zebra, mentally over-efficient, and other more or less politically correct images to avoid hurting some people’s sensitivity or others’ envy.

I wanted to share with you what I was able to live and feel during most of my life. So close your eyes and imagine… Then reopen them to read the rest, otherwise it won’t be possible….

Imagine that you are a Ferrari in a world where everyone is born a Golf. You don’t know you’re a Ferrari, no one ever told you. You think you’re a Golf. Oh, you did notice that you weren’t quite the same. A weird shape, too loud a noise, uncontrollable speed… So you just think you’re a somewhat, or even seriously defective Golf.

Others look at you strangely. They can see that you’re not like them, but don’t understand what’s wrong. After all, in a world where everyone is born a Golf, you can only be a Golf. Yet your engine doesn’t make the same noise. You have a weird shape, you cut through the wind so much better than them. And your exceptional speed surprises them. They can never follow you and don’t understand why. You don’t understand either. Yet you’re a Golf?!? What’s happening to you? Why can’t you do, be like the others.

So with all your strength you stifle your roars so they sound a little more like the engine noise of others. You camouflage your shape, though so efficient, to try to get closer to that of others. It hurts. It’s difficult. But so much less than not understanding what’s wrong. You try to slow down and put all your power on your brakes. Again, it’s very hard. It makes you suffer. You end up feeling muzzled, ugly and slow. And despite all your efforts, you still don’t look like a Golf. And you still don’t know what’s wrong. Others don’t change their attitude. They saw that you were trying things: things so bizarre for a Golf. « This Golf definitely has a serious problem, » they tell themselves. And you think the same.

The most benevolent among others look at you with compassion, even pity. Others mock you. Some, you don’t know why, hurt you. Among them, there are those who, knowing you’re fast, pretend to understand you, to support you, for the duration of a race on your back, then abandon you at the finish line.

One day, during a trip to the borders of this country where everyone is born a Golf, you see a Ferrari passing in the distance: dazzling, noisy, so fast, so beautiful. At the moment, you don’t pay attention to it. It’s just a dream car far from everything you know. You daydream: « What must it be like to be a Ferrari… I wonder how it feels ». You drive a few blocks and, at the corner of a street, you catch your reflection in a bay window. And there, something happens. You find yourself thinking that you vaguely resemble this Ferrari you just saw. « But no… That’s ridiculous. I’m just a completely broken-down Golf, » you immediately think.

Time passes. You’re now a big Golf… well… all weird, dented and with a strange sound. But that’s what you managed to do best to try to look like the others. You travel a little more often. During another trip to the outskirts of the country where everyone is born a Golf, you see a Ferrari again. This time, it’s stopped at a red light. You approach, stop beside it, waiting for the traffic light to turn green. The sound of this Ferrari is sweet to your ears. It envelops you, it vibrates in you. It seems to have always been part of you. You don’t understand what’s happening. And when the light turns green, the Ferrari looks at you, and tells you « Hey you… yes you who looks like a Golf. You’re a Ferrari like me… » and starts off with all its power.

You remain frozen, petrified. « What just happened? What did he mean? I’m just a Golf. And a completely failed one at that… How can he take me for a Ferrari. That’s nonsense. » Yet, it troubles you. You hardly sleep anymore. Your pistons run at full speed practically night and day. Then begins a period of great suffering. It’s true, you already suffered a lot from being an imperfect Golf. But this is something else. It’s suffering that comes from the deepest part of your engine. Suffering that comes from every nut, bolt, connecting rod, hose… even from your chassis. You begin to tell yourself that maybe you’re not a Golf after all… « but certainly not a Ferrari either ».

Then by chance on a new trip, you meet this same Ferrari and this time have the opportunity to talk with him. He tells you he was born in a country where everyone is born a Megane. That he grew up thinking he was a failed Megane, that he suffered most of his life from this feeling. He tried everything to be a proper Megane. Even bodywork correction. Yet he always felt different and isolated. Until he met a Ferrari. « This Ferrari opened my headlights, » he says. « It took me time, it was long and painful, but I finally understood that I was also a Ferrari… like you… »

He tells you how a Ferrari works, what differentiates it from Meganes and Golfs. He explains that the latter, knowing nothing else, cannot envision your difference. « It’s not mean, » he tells you full of benevolence. You then dive back into your story. As his story unfolds, you relive all your sufferings, your misunderstandings, your social and relational difficulties. And you understand. Finally, you understand why it’s always been so difficult.

Then begins for you the long path of reconstruction. Slowly, you heal every scratch, every dent, every hollow you inflicted on your bodywork to try to look like a Golf. You begin to ease up a little on your exhaust pipe and let, from time to time, a deep and warm sound escape… not too loud… not too fast… so as not to attract too much attention. And those brake jaws so tense… you try to release them. It takes a lot of energy. It’s painful. You manage slowly, and little by little, your speed increases. During this period, you’re often seized with doubt. « It’s so difficult, maybe I’m actually still a Golf and I’m torturing myself to become a Ferrari… »… But you quickly remember your past suffering. So you cling to this new belief that makes you a Ferrari.

After some time, you finally look like a Ferrari. Your speed is still a little lower than your capabilities, you don’t dare let everything go. « Am I really a Ferrari… Am I legitimate? What if I’m wrong?! I would quickly look like a Golf who thinks she’s a Ferrari ». From time to time, you even hear that little voice inside you saying « deep down, you were born a Golf, you’ll remain a Golf, whatever you do »… But the more you approached the appearance and functioning of a Ferrari, the more you felt it was right.

Doubt remains tenacious however. All the signs are there now: you are a Ferrari. For you, and for some others, there’s no possible doubt. Yet… Where’s the proof? And what type of Ferrari are you? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Are you a circuit Ferrari? A road Ferrari? Many questions jostle under your hood. You then decide one day to get an expert assessment. You want to know for sure. No sooner said than done. The expert confirms: You are a Ferrari. A road Ferrari. You’re more comfortable on flowing highways. Interchanges pose no problem for you which isn’t the case for all Ferraris, on the other hand, you can’t stand desert highways at night, and prefer rough asphalt to smooth asphalt.

Finally, you feel legitimate. Not only do you think, you feel like a Ferrari, but an expert has confirmed it. It’s undeniable this time. You feel good. You feel for the first time in your existence that you are what you were meant to be.

That’s why I decided to get a high-potential screening.

If you too think you’re a not very well-made Golf, and if you recognize yourself in this story, I invite you to read Christel Petitcollin’s book I Think Too Much – How to Channel This Invasive Mind. It’s the Ferrari that opened the way for me.