Promise

Promise is an interesting word.
To have promise. To show promise. To make a promise. To break a promise.
Where does promise come from? Do we make it? Find it?
Can we cultivate promise?
If I'm coaching a kid who supposedly has promise, but I can't find it in him, is that my fault?
Should I be held responsible for creating that promise?
And what about when promise fails?
When all the hard work and dedication in the world fails to bring about what promise promised, and all that is left is disappointment? What then?

And what about when someone makes a promise, and breaks it? Can promise be fixed?

I think promise fits in the same category as words like try, maybe, should, could, can't, with sayings like "that's the best I can do", I tried my hardest", "I promise, next time I'll stick it, hopefully...".

In my world, everything has promise. Everything has the potential to fail or succeed.
The measure of that success is taken not by how hard we try, by how often we do.
I can say that I tried to do something, that outside forces made that thing impossible for me, or I can do that thing. There will always be outside forces, there will always be excuses, there will always be promise.
Fuck promise. DO.