Let me start by saying there is no value in playing small, but there is huge potential in starting small. They are not the same thing, and they get you completely different results.
What is Playing Small?
Playing small is never saying ‘yes’ to the ideas that excite you. It’s about keeping busy with the things that don’t really matter. The things that are easy and get you the result you expect. It’s about not believing that your ideas are enough and that you have something important to say.
What is Starting Small?
Starting Small is taking small yet consistent steps into the bigger vision you have. It’s about doing things that make you feel a little anxious and excited all at once. It’s about stepping into something before you have it all figured out. It’s about getting the feedback along the way and being agile enough to pivot as you go.
Where will Playing Small get me?
Nowhere, fast! I’ll be honest, I played small for years so I know the practice intimately. I kept really busy without truly getting anywhere. I wasn’t willing to try on the cloak of uncertainty and feel the discomfort that rides alongside it.
Playing small keeps you stuck, never able to tap into your true potential and discover where your true strength and value lies.
Where will Starting Small get me?
Closer to your bigger vision with every step you take. When you embrace the uncertainty of your big idea, and take the steps that petrify you, you will get the answers you need and build momentum along the way. The juicy side effect to starting small is that clarity and confidence will inevitably come along for the ride.
Starting small is all about taking purposeful action that will allow you to stretch, evolve and grow into who you’re really here to become.
But I’m scared…
My favourite way to beat the fear that pops up when you’re starting small is to stay curious. It takes the pressure off the result and keeps you open to the lessons rather than the outcome.
As Tara Mohr says, “Curiosity is a miracle drug for treating fear. Curiosity simply wants to discover what’s true. That pure, childlike sense of wanting to discover and learn can’t co-exist with fear.”
If you’re ready to play bigger, you have to think big, start small and stay curious.
