Tameka AndersonBehavior Coach | Creator of the THRIVE™ Framework & CALM Method™ at Cultivate Potential Strategies

Are You Playing Small? Pt. 1 #selfimprovement

23 Aug 2024 · 1 min

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In this brief monologue, the speaker shares a personal, emotional response to Marianne Williamson’s poem “Our Deepest Fear,” describing how a single line moved them to tears. They explore the distinction between “playing small” – deliberately limiting one’s gifts to avoid intimidating others – and true humility, which acknowledges the source of one’s gifts without shrinking. The speaker challenges listeners to examine their own behavior, asking whether they are playing small or genuinely being humble, and encourages embracing one’s gifts for the benefit of the world.

Chapters

One of my favorite poems is Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson. I cried for about an hour when I first read it because this one line just really, really touched my soul. You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. I didn't even realize that I was shrinking until I read that poem. I thought I was trying to be humble. There's a huge difference between playing small and being humble. Being humble means understanding who gave you the gift. Playing small means not using the gift because you don't want to intimidate other people. So ask yourself this question: are you playing small or trying to be humble?