Don't use critical thinking to create your dreams!

[Saiisha]

Throughout my childhood, I often felt that I was living with one foot in each of two very different worlds. One world was about thinking, the other about emotion. One was about what we can see and touch and hear, the other was about the inner life that created that tangible reality.

As I sought to weave together these two worlds, I moved between what I'd now call times of playing big and times of playing small. During some periods, I could remember what I truly loved - writing, the arts, spirituality, entrepreneurship, creativity, women's empowerment, and being a part of a community - and I could build a life that was about those things. But during many years, I was lost from all that. My education helped develop my intellect, but the artist in me became lost along the way and I neglected my spiritual life. I became a bit cynical about personal growth work, taking my cues from the academic culture around me rather than listening inward to what I knew to be true. Worst of all, I developed some fabulous "critical thinking" skills but then applied them to my own dreams for my future, playing the skeptic instead of being an ally to myself.

Playing big doesn't come from working more, pushing harder, or finding confidence. It comes from listening to the most powerful and secure part of you, not the voice of self-doubt.

When a woman truly begins playing big according to what that means to her, she becomes one, naturally

[Dewin]

Beautifully said, Saiisha. I could say the same thing about my own life. Luckily, I married a man who listens to his inner voice and doesn't follow the typical path. It helps me immensely to relax when I worry that I am not doing what is "sensible". Still, I struggle to meld the two as well and to know when I am being too sensible or not sensible enough, particularly with finances.

[Saiisha]

Dewin wrote: "Beautifully said, Saiisha. I could say the same thing about my own life. Luckily, I married a man who listens to his inner voice and doesn't follow the typical path. It helps me immensely to relax ..."

Money is one reason so many of us play small Dewin - because we're afraid to take risks with it. You're really fortunate to have an understanding partner that can ease your worries :)

If you like the excerpt above, I think you'll really like the book - "Playing Big" by Tara Mohr - she has a whole chapter on looking at fear / worry from a different perspective that was eye-opening for me!