Your Playing Small Does Not Serve the World

Breaking free from self-limitation and stepping into possibility.

“Your playing small does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you” - Marianne Williamson

If you’ve seen Coach Carter, you might recognise this line from Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson. It’s been hitting home for me this week.

There are a couple of recurring themes I want to talk about today - ideas that keep showing up in my life:

Power in Proximity & Playing Small.

Playing Small

It’s funny how you don’t always realise you’re playing small - until you meet someone thinking three to five levels ahead of you. That’s when it becomes obvious. And ironically, these two concepts - power in proximity and playing small are deeply connected.

Let’s start by breaking it down.

Playing small means avoiding risks or actions that might cause discomfort, ultimately holding yourself back from achieving what you truly want. That’s a definition I came across, but let’s sit with it for a moment.

To me, playing small means not striving for your fullest potential. One of my biggest fears in life is stagnation - not achieving what I set out to do. If I fall short, it won’t be for lack of effort or action, that’s for sure.

Lately, playing small has been showing up in my journey with Gaoth. I’ve been so afraid of repeating past mistakes from my last exhibitions that, instead of focusing on creating something beautiful, I’m hesitating to create anything at all.

The truth is, I don’t have to print and frame all 20 images (some might not even make the final exhibition, but they’re in my selects for now). Yet playing small makes me believe that’s the only way. And by fixating on what I’m avoiding, I end up doing nothing at all.

I recently met with a friend who’s an interior designer. Watching her effortlessly brainstorm idea after idea was incredible. I walked away with names of stores to send my work to, alternative ways to display the series affordably, and discussions about where, why, how, and when.

Will I act on all of those ideas? I don’t know yet. But it reminded me of that quote from Coach Carter:

"Your playing small does not serve the world."

Why create Gaoth if it’s just going to sit on my phone as tiny images that don’t do it justice? What’s the point of making this series if it never sees the light of day?

Deep down, this project is about reconnecting with nature - highlighting the beauty we miss in our daily lives because we’re too caught up in the rush of life.

Will sharing it make people reconnect with nature? Who knows. But I do know this: if I don’t share it, nothing will come of it.

So - share the thing.

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Power in Proximity

"A psychological phenomenon that describes how physical distance influences our social interactions and emotions."

This ties in closely with playing small.

"There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you."

Let’s break that down: the first part is about you playing small, while the second part is about the people you surround yourself with.

We’ve all heard the TED Talks, the podcasts, the influencers throwing out life-changing advice. But in this case, power in proximity might actually be the most valuable concept to take in if you want real change in your life.

You are the product of the five people you spend the most time with. Their mindsets, habits, and energy will shape you whether you realise it or not.

And if you’re the smartest person in the room? You probably need to find a new fucking room.

I’ve seen this firsthand - people with all the talent and potential in the world, yet they remain exactly where they were the last time I saw them. Friends who peaked young and haven’t changed in 15 years.

But I’ve also seen the opposite people who didn’t start with much but had someone recognise their potential and pull them forward into a life they never thought possible.

I’m not saying you should ditch your friends, move to LA, and chase stardom. But if your circle’s idea of fun is still getting wasted every weekend at 30, and you’re wondering why your life isn’t taking off… maybe it’s time to rethink who you’re spending time with.

For me, this realisation has been showing up in subtle ways especially in relation to my small-town upbringing. It’s not that I don’t believe I can achieve what I want; it’s that I grew up in a place where people were born, lived, and died in the same town.

There’s nothing wrong with that if it’s truly what you want.

But if you dream of travelling, photographing incredible people, and creating art that matters, then clinging to a small-town mentality might not be doing you any favours.

In fact, it’s probably one of the biggest sources of imposter syndrome when it creeps in.

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Anyway, back to the above what an incredible movie Coach Carter is. That quote gets used so often on my socials, always in that iconic clip that starts with “What is your deepest fear?”

I’ll leave you with something else I came across this week some black and white photographs I rediscovered while researching for a talk on intentional monochrome photography.

Hope you all have an amazing week, and I’ll see you next Tuesday when I’ll be sharing the next images from Gaoth.

With love,
Adam