Mind Traps That Shrink Potential

And why you keep playing small

There was a season of my life where everything looked fine on the outside. I was doing “all the right things.” I was productive. Responsible. Busy. I made big decisions with conviction and confidence, and was good at convincing others I was following my dreams.

And yet, a persistent ache remained. The feeling that I was capable of more… but actively avoiding it. I justified ignoring my potential by believing I should be grateful for what I have and what I’m doing, and leave it at that.

I didn’t want to come off as unsatisfied or spread myself thin trying to do too much. Why complicate a good thing, right? Honestly, I came up with so many creative excuses to ignore a calling, reject my creativity, and turn down opportunities that seemed to appear out of thin air. It was years before that sense that I was operating far below what I was capable of began to feel destabilizing.

Most of us don’t play small on purpose. We do it slowly, sensibly, and with very good reasons.

I wasn’t scared of the hard work that comes with something new; I was more nervous about being seen trying. When everyone knows you for being good at one thing and then sees you fumbling with another, it’s hard to reconcile parts of your identity with potential failure. When your favourite self-help author steps into the studio to make music people can’t help but say, “What’s he doing here!?”

Why do we stick to the boxes we put ourselves in? Why do we forget the childlike wonder that had us exploring many hobbies at once, without a care if we were good enough?

If you sense there is more in you, and more you want to get out of this very brief life, here’s what I do to access more intelligence, creativity, courage, and range in my experiences—and to stop resisting my spirit’s pull toward my potential.