--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are silent, considering shortfalls…" description: "\"We are silent, considering shortfalls. There's not much time left, for us to become what we once intended. Jon had potential, but it's not a word that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdc/margaret-atwood-40_considering_we-are-silent-considering-shortfalls-the_1998760.jpg" --- # We are silent, considering shortfalls. There's not much… ![“We are silent, considering shortfalls. There's not much time left, for us to become what we once intended. Jon had potential, but it's not a word that can be used comfortably any more. Potential has a shelf-life.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdc/margaret-atwood-40_considering_we-are-silent-considering-shortfalls-the_1998760.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdc/margaret-atwood-40_considering_we-are-silent-considering-shortfalls-the_1998760.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdc/margaret-atwood-40_considering_we-are-silent-considering-shortfalls-the_1998760.jpg) > “We are silent, considering shortfalls. There's not much time left, for us to become what we once intended. Jon had potential, but it's not a word that can be used comfortably any more. Potential has a shelf-life.” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unrealized potential fades; time is short to become what we intended. **In simple terms:** Potential decays without action. Key Takeaway Act now to fulfill potential. Themes potential time regret Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism human ambition mortality Questions to Reflect On - What prevents us from realizing goals? - How to combat potential decay? A Different Perspective Societal pressures can suppress potential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Considering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/considering/) [Intended Jon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intended-jon-3504786/) [Jon Potential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jon-potential-3504785/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Potential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/potential/) [Potential Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/potential-word-1614949/) [Shelf life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelf-life/) [Shelves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelves/) [Silent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silent/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-left/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) ## Related quotes > [Potential has a shelf life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/potential-has-a-shelf-life/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [We don't want to keep talking about 'potential.' That word is the most dangerous word in professional sports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwane-casey/we-don-t-want-to-keep-talking-about-potential-that-word-is-the-most/) [Dwane Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwane-casey/) > [If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/if-you-had-to-identify-in-one-word-the-reason-why-the-human-race-has-2/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-allen/if-you-had-to-identify-in-one-word-the-reason-why-the-human-race-has/) [David Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-allen/) > [The shelf life of the average trade book is somewhere between milk and yogurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-trillin/the-shelf-life-of-the-average-trade-book-is-somewhere-between-milk/) [Calvin Trillin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-trillin/) > [In the NFL, you have a short shelf life. As a running back, if you're the first pick, and you're NFL life expectancy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-dickerson/in-the-nfl-you-have-a-short-shelf-life-as-a-running-back-if-you-re/) [Eric Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-dickerson/) > [The shelf life of the modern hardback writer is somewhere between the milk and the yoghurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/the-shelf-life-of-the-modern-hardback-writer-is-somewhere-between-the/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [What's love? Something that lasts a week or a month and that's all you can except? Or is it just that some loves have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-applegate/what-s-love-something-that-lasts-a-week-or-a-month-and-that-s-all-you/) [Katherine Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-applegate/) > [There's a difference between a caper and a prank. 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And when past its prime, it is similarly deadly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/high-fashion-has-the-shelf-life-of-potato-salad-and-when-past-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Good music shouldn't have a shelf life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-ware/good-music-shouldn-t-have-a-shelf-life/) [Jessie Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-ware/) > [ ... everyone has come to understand that unconditional love is a reality, but with as shelf life of about eight to ten seconds. \[p. 110\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/everyone-has-come-to-understand-that-unconditional-love-is-a-reality/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [The medium's gaze is brief, intense, and promiscuous. The shelf life of the moral causes it makes its own is brutally short.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-medium-s-gaze-is-brief-intense-and-promiscuous-the-shelf-life-of/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? 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