You have been playing small

Or no?

Of what use is the treasure inside of you, if you have failed to get over yourself and harness the wind?

— Abiola Okunsanya

The year is less than 30 days to its end, and boy! Has it been a good one! Maybe not for everyone though, and I write this with all sense of humility, because even I know, and even I have had my share of the 'not-so-good'.

I started this year with four clear and specific goals in my heart. One was to learn a skill, another was to consistently learn a language, another was to build definitely defined quality relationships, and the forth was to finish a professional course, and I've looked back now, only to realize how much I flunked at a little over two of those goals. I won't tell you which ones.

I had several conversations with some friends, and it came up how we have all been playing small, even though on the outside, it didn't look like it.

The question then came up, about what it really meant to play small, because the level at which some of these people are playing today is the level at which some other people dream to play at.

And so today, with a poem, I have attempted to define what it means to play small, hopefully by the end of the poem, you'd know if you have been playing small all along.

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If you have been coasting,

On the borders of the hard,

And with ease have been boasting,

You have been playing small.

If you have been waking up,

By and by snoozing the alarms,

Dining and wining with comfort,

You have been playing small.

If your head has not ached,

If your muscles have not been stretched,

If you have not reached beyond your strength,

You have been playing small.

If you have said yes,

To the good, to the bad and to the unsure,

Avoiding the dislikes, the failures, and the mess,

You have been playing small.

If you have not a scar,

From trying hard and getting bruised,

From swinging to reach a star,

You have been playing small.

If you have gathered to yourself,

Even those who don't see your worth,

Going against the principle of "Know Thyself"

You have been playing small.

If you have given up,

At the slightest hint of harsh,

At the tiniest show of discomfort,

You have been playing small.

If that daunting idea,

Has not moved you from your seat,

Or caused you to go sleepless,

You have been playing small.

If you have defined,

Your worth lesser than your sacrifices,

Charging less than you've been fined,

You have been playing small.

If you have chosen

To color everyone by your experiences,

And have left love go unspoken,

You have been playing small.

If you have allowed the NFAs,

The unsure, the party bulbs and average,

Deny, define, and kill your ace,

You have been playing small.

If you have been the best player,

In all the places you found yourself,

It just means you've learned nothing,

You have been playing small.

If you have not fallen off from reaching,

If you have not broken from jumping,

If you have not almost tasted death,

You have been playing small.

If you have never been curious,

About your lot and position in life,

About the reason for which you're here with us,

You have been playing small.

For of what use is your talent,

If you bury it under the ground?

What use is your life,

If you live like you've been held bound?

For of what use is your box of treasures,

What use is the dreams casted upon you,

What use is the breath in your nostrils,

If all you do is play small?

Have you been playing small?

To your growth,

Abiola Okunsanya,

Handzinspired. ✨