5 ways you might be living too small

When Positive Psychologists talk about “happiness” what we’re really talking about is … thriving and flourishing.

Happiness, more accurately, is living your best life.

And happiness, therefore, requires LIVING BIG and stretching and MAKING THE MOST of what you have and what’s available.

Many of us don’t enjoy as much happiness as we could, or live as great a life as we could, because we live “too small”. Here are 5 ways you might be falling in to this trap AND what you can do about it …

via Psychology Today by David Sack

How do you live your life? Do you proactively make the most of your talents and seek out fulfilling experiences and relationships? Or is your focus on avoiding pain, confrontation and embarrassment—in other words, making yourself as small a target as possible so the world won’t shoot you down?

Putting yourself out there can be unsettling, but it feels worse to wonder what might have been.

Are you giving yourself the chance to be your best and to experience all that you can? Or are you living a miniature life? Here are five signs you’re living too small for your inherent bigness:

1. You wait to be asked …

… to speak in the meeting, to go to the movies, to have a turn with the karaoke mic, to join the conversation at a party, to share your opinion. Putting yourself forward is just not in your DNA. What if you speak up and say something stupid? What if you ask someone to the movies and they say no? Better to sit back and wait until someone begs you to join in. That way, if things go wrong, you can say, “Hey, it wasn’t my idea.”

The reality: If you wait to be asked, the invitation may never come. Yes, that might mean you sometimes avoid embarrassment, but it also means you are going to miss chances to grow, learn, and just have fun…

…keep reading the full & original article HERE