Playing small

Monday, August 4

Most people are actively training themselves to stay small. And they don’t realize it.

When was the last time you put yourself in a position where you could fail? Maybe it was in a workout, lifting more weight than you’d done before. Maybe it was having a hard conversation that had the potential to go poorly. Maybe it was speaking up in a meeting where your idea could be rejected. Maybe it was reaching out to a prospect who may shut you down.

For most people I talk to, they actively avoid these situations. They try to put themselves in position to be “successful” in each moment. Which really means putting themselves in situations where they are comfortable. Avoiding the risk. Avoiding the possibility of failure. Avoiding the possibility of embarrassment.

But what they (and maybe you) are really avoiding is growth. If we never take chances, we stay stuck. We are actively choosing to delay and prevent our progress.

The older we get, the safer we tend to play it. And the less impact we get to make.

Go big today. Put yourself out there this week. If you fall down? Great. You learned. Now you know what you need to do win the next time you are in that situation. Try, fail, learn, try again, win, repeat. This is the process of getting better. But it doesn’t happen if we don’t take risks.

Don’t let fear win the day. ​
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Keep chopping wood. 🪵🪓

-Kevin