“Its ok to be comfortable if that is what you want…its not ok to be small.”
That is the premise behind a recent episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast (Episode 1880). She goes on to say that “you playing small is the single biggest reason why you are not happy.”
And honestly… it felt like a gut punch.
Not because I disagree with her.
But because it forced me to look at myself.
When the Dreamer Stops Dreaming
I am a dreamer by nature.
Historically it has always been very easy for me to dream big dreams. I love creating big visions – for myself, for my business, and for my clients’ businesses. Helping someone imagine what could be is one of my favorite things to do.
But for a while, I lost that ability.
There was a season where I couldn’t tap into it at all. My mind just… wouldn’t go there. The big ideas were gone. The excitement about the future was muted. Everything felt smaller and more mechanical.
If you’ve followed my recent posts, you know that this has been part of a larger reset season for me – doing the internal work needed to come back to myself and rebuild my vision from the inside out.
One of the things I’ve been working on is simply learning how to dream again.
The First Step: Getting Honest About What You Want
In the podcast, Mel Robbins says the first step is surprisingly simple:
Get honest with yourself and claim what you want.
That sounds easy, but it really isn’t.
The person she was interviewing had a dream they had been holding for years – but they also had a long list of reasons why it hadn’t happened yet. Going into debt being a big one.
If we’re honest, most of us can relate to that.
Following your dreams is scary.
Building something bigger than your current reality is uncomfortable.
And sometimes it feels safer to quietly shrink the vision instead of risking disappointment.
A Simple Exercise to Reopen the Door
Mel suggests a simple exercise:
Write down five dreams every day.
That’s it.
Five things you want.
Five ideas.
Five possibilities.
They can be big or small.
They can repeat day after day.
They can be silly or serious.
The point isn’t perfection.
The point is practice.
It’s about getting those dreams out of your head and onto paper without judging them or shrinking them.
She explains that the exercise is about “clearing out the blockage and the gunk that has blocked the highway between your heart and your soul.”
And honestly, that description resonated with me more than anything else.
Because when you’ve spent a season disconnected from your vision, it really does feel like something is clogged in the system.
Why This Matters for Business Owners
As business owners, we often spend so much time dealing with the daily realities of running a business that we stop allowing ourselves to dream.
We manage the team.
We solve problems.
We fix systems.
We respond to emails.
We keep things moving.
And somewhere along the way, the vision part gets quieter.
But vision is what fuels growth.
It’s what helps you move from simply maintaining a business to building something meaningful and intentional.
You don’t have to want a massive empire. There is nothing wrong with wanting a comfortable, sustainable business.
But shrinking your dreams out of fear or exhaustion is different.
That’s not comfort.
That’s limitation.
Reopening the Door
Right now, I’m relearning something I once did naturally:
Giving myself permission to dream again.
Some days the list comes easily.
Other days it feels awkward and forced.
But that’s okay.
The goal isn’t perfection.
The goal is reopening the door.
Because if Mel Robbins is right – and I suspect she is – playing small doesn’t just limit our businesses.
It limits our sense of possibility.
And sometimes the first step to building something bigger…
is simply writing it down.
If you want to listen to her podcast episode, you can find it here – The Mel Robbin’s Podcast, ep. 1880 on Spotify