When we think about how we show up in our lives, can we describe it as PLAYING BIG or playing small? Most people would agree they want to show up, bet big on themselves, have the skills and talents to back it up, and then reap the rewards of their efforts. So how can we bet big and PLAY BIG in our lives? Over the next couple of weeks we're going to learn from Theodore Roosevelt and one of his most famous speeches, "Citizen in a Republic" which contains this quote -
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
The first step to PLAYING BIG in life is to put ourselves in the arena. We spend so much of our time talking about the plans we have, the dreams we want to chase down, the ideas that will surely bring about success, and how we are going to do it differently than everyone else. While we are spending all of this time talking and wishing, others are already in the arena playing. Are there areas of our lives that we are too timid and afraid of what might happen if we do step in the arena? Are we not stepping into the arena because we are concerned with failure, worried what others will think of us, or that we may not be good enough? These are very real thoughts we all experience! Everyone who has achieved anything of value has overcome these same fears to PLAY BIG.
Our mental training for this week is simple. Identify one area in our life we want to step into the arena and PLAY BIG. Maybe it's a side project we want to start and pursue. Maybe there is some aspect of our physical training we have been avoiding because we are concerned how we will look to others. Maybe it's making a decision in our work that won't be popular, but we know it will make a difference moving forward. Choose one area to step into the arena. It's time to your chips on the table and start PLAYING BIG.