Cheri Dixon: A Girl and Her Dog

Hey there y’all! Welcome back to another great week of thoughts with A Girl and Her Dog! This week, I spent time reflecting and thinking about playing small. What does playing small mean? I believe it is when we put ourselves into a “mold” or role based on outside factors. Let’s think about this…we play wife, mother, employee, friend…all of these roles and when others believe we are a certain person in that role, we tend to stay there. WE even put ourselves into these molds and stay small, rather than go after our goals and dreams.

Years ago, I remember making the bed one morning with my ex-husband. For whatever reason, our cat was being a bit of a pain and she felt the need to lay in the middle of the bed, without moving, making it difficult for us to get the bed made. I remember saying, “Get the damn cat off the bed.” My ex-husband turned, looked at me as if I committed a cardinal sin, and said, “Why did you say that? You do not cuss.” Now, this seems like a small thought, but it was big in my life…I learned that day that his image of me was that I was this woman who did not cuss. And, that is exactly where I stayed for years…as a woman who sometimes sounded a bit childish in my opinion, because I would not use cuss words, but more child-friendly language in all encounters in my life. Is this playing small? No…but it was playing a role that outside factors controlled for me.

So, what does it really mean to play small? Ok…let’s think about this. In my chapter of the Unleash Her anthology, I write about how I have had life hit me, but instead of just accepting it, I still pursued my goals and dreams. Many people I know tend to just say, “ok…I had a baby…I guess this is my life now.” Or, “ok…I got divorced. I am single and alone…I just need to accept this.” Well…that is what playing small truly means to me. These things happen in life…but how we continue to show up, how we pivot and adjust so that we can still have a life we love makes all of the difference.

How do you show up in your life? Are you playing small? Are you playing big? Are you playing small, wishing you had the strength, courage, and confidence to play big? I am not sure about you, but all of these thoughts have raced through my head at some point in my life. And here is what I decided…I get to determine my life. I get to decide what goals and dreams I want to accomplish. And, I get to build a life I love…and get to be as BIG as I want to be. Because, here is the thing, I am in charge of me….my own happiness…and my own life. Is it scary, of course. Is it sometimes easier to just play small…and then maybe have an excuse for why your life is not as good as it could be? In my opinion…it sure would be easy to blame outside forces for why we are not living a life we love…for why we feel stuck in the life we have.

I could go on and on about this, and I certainly would be happy to connect with you and discuss ways I put myself on a path of playing big…and fulfilling my goals in life. Or, you can definitely check out my new 4 month program that is now available to purchase! We talk about being stuck, playing small, how to remedy these feelings, setting goals, and designing a life that is on our own terms! I know this program will help you as you set out on your path of building a life you cannot wait to wake up to! Check out more information here, and feel free to reach out if need more information before coming on board with me in the course, Confident, Courageous, and Clear: Learning to Live Life on Your Terms!

Until next time! Cheri ❤️