Most people play small. Few play big.
You can’t win by playing small. Just like you can’t win by watching.
Playing small is barely the next step above just watching in life.
Playing small means you are making some attempts at life.
You are putting yourself out there, just a little. You are taking small, calculated risks. You are planning and thinking about how to run your household, or career.
How do I know?
My tendency is to play is safe and small. I’m still pushing myself to play bigger and bigger.
But, here’s the deal.
Most people play small. You must play big to win. Most people operate 99 percent within their comfort zone. All the time.
Comfort zone equals comfort.
Comfort zone means never growing or taking risks.
Comfort zone means hardly ever getting your really big goals.
To succeed, you must bust out of your comfort zone.
And, not by putting a toe in the water. This doesn’t cut it. I’m talking about diving in. Going for it. Playing all out.
Leaving you no way back.
Imagine making a well thought out strategic decision and moving forward on it. And leaving yourself no way back. You succeed or die (figuratively) trying. That really is the only way to succeed.
Most people, even when stretching their comfort zone, leave themselves a way out. They leave a way to get back or not really do what was planned.
This almost doesn’t count. Your brain knows it isn’t for real.
On the other hand, if you play big, you make a decision and then go for it. All the way.
For example, if you were thinking of moving to another state, you wouldn’t keep your current place and rent or buy a new place. Wouldn’t make sense and you are leaving yourself a way out.
No, to play big, you would dump your current place, pack up and move. Do or die. Hopefully you wouldn’t be going without some planning and connections. But, there would be no turning back.
Finally, playing big means setting big goals. Now, goal setting is a whole other topic of some controversy. But for our purposes here, you would set goals big enough to scare you. Big enough for your brain to go “wow.” Big enough to hope and big enough to be scared.
Cool, right?
Jeffrey A. Betman, Ph.D. is a psychologist, author, and life coach helping people toward the easy life. For a FREE newsletter ($197 value) on making your life easier and FREE report titled 5 Steps To An Easy Life That You Probably Know, But Don’t Do Yet, go to www.LifeIsEasyCoaching.com/sq
Copyright 2010 LifeIsEasyCoaching
Great post Doc!
Play big or go home!
Life is experienced in its most full capacity when we stretch our perceptions into realities by taking the action to our desired outcomes. It takes no more time to play big than it does to play small.
Expand your limits and achieve new boundaries.
Well said.