The benefits of thinking big

If there is one thing that will set you back in life it’s going to be thinking small. Its a common feeling that most people get about life, and to a greater degree are not even aware of it, so if this is you, don’t worry and definitely don’t panic.

For the most it starts throughout your childhood where there were too many negative comments we heard, that were said to us and unfortunately we began to sub-consciously listen, and begin embedding them as a belief. For example, how many times were you told “you can’t have everything you want in life” or “get real, that’s not going to happen for you” or “it’s about time to grow up and stop dreaming” SMASH! That’s it resilience crushed, your passion and excitement for life begins to be slowly eroded, even though you don’t realise it in the moment. I have since come to realise, all of those comments were merely an admission of the person trying to dissuade you, their failings and because they didn’t succeed you should save yourself the time and not bother.

This is true for the masses, it’s only a select few who begin to realise these false beliefs, trust themselves and move forward. I mean don’t get me wrong, I am not saying ignore the important things like don’t get too close to fire as it burns, don’t smoke it leads to lung cancer, don’t jump off the top storey of a building because it won’t be pretty. You know these are the things that you can take at face value, because if you had to learn all of these things, it’s not only going to take up invaluable time, you’re also going to be putting your life at risk. So yes, don’t ignore everything but be picky about what you’re going to believe from other people’s experience, make sure you’ve got the facts and evidence.

Now onto thinking big. The difference about thinking big is, this isn’t going to hurt anyone, yourself or make a mess if you jumped for it. The problem is human beings are experts at self-limiting and it doesn’t take much for us to believe we can’t do something, in fact for the things we believe we can do, it takes a remarkable amount of effort and reprogramming to achieve the positive mindset of ‘we’ can do this. Its important to note however, the more you begin this repetitive (but eventually rewarding) process of the ‘can do’ attitude then the easier it becomes to start thinking bigger, it’s like a muscle and it needs regular training not only to grow but also to maintain. Its hard work, however it’s about the most rewarding training you will ever do.

From bigger you can start thinking massive. Here is one of the best examples in the world, the conquest of space travel, do you think that even 20 years prior to space exploration the majority of society thought it was ever possible to see photos of earth from outer space. I wasn’t there, but I would wager highly that 99% of people believed it impossible. Why? Because it had never been done. Too many people took and still take the saying “I’ll believe it when I see it”, ok fair statement. But let me put this to you, you can’t physically see electricity but would you say oh I can’t see it, so therefore I deny the existence of electricity…. No of course you wouldn’t, you know it’s there and you use it daily albeit invisible to us. Another example is an acorn, you don’t look at it and say “nope no oak tree, so that’s not going to happen” no, it gets buried in the earth and begins to grow, where you can’t see it until what, until, it pushes through the soil. The reality is you expect this because its been done before, you know it’s going to happen from an acorn but you don’t discredit it even though you can’t see it, you believe and have every faith that, a single tiny acorn can grow into a mighty oak.

So what’s the secret? Faith, faith is the single biggest thing that is missing from the majority of people today. Our society has done its very best to destroy our faith, our faith in the church (don’t confuse me for a theologian) I am just presenting the facts, our faith in each other, our faith in our teachers and our faith in our politicians (albeit perhaps the last one is self-inflicted). It’s difficult to put faith in yourself because of our society, that’s why so many of us today fail to achieve what we want out of life. Too many of us end up 10–15 years down the line, unable to provide in the ways we want for our families, ourselves or the community and this is primarily down to the lack of faith in ourselves, to think as big as we possibly can. As Tom Sayers said in one of his poems, “Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, and was its sweetness in the desert air” roughly translated, too many people go through life not exposing their true potential to the world, instead accept average because the fear of going for it. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

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