04/03/2026
Playing-it-safe feels reasonable in the moment.
But what if playing-it-safe is the story our minds tell us?
I know this personally.
My mind has asked me to play-it-safe more times that I can count. When writing my first book; When giving a TEDx talk; when launching a podcast.
Every single time, there was a very convincing narrative telling me to hold back, to not risk it.
It was a story.
As a psychologist, I've spent years sitting with people who couldn't understand why they kept holding back. Why they would talk to themselves out of the thing they actually wanted. Why "not yet" became their default.
It was a story, so automatic, so familiar.
Our minds have been telling us stories since the beginning of human history. Stories build to protect us, to keep us out of danger.
The problem?
Your mind can't always tell the difference between a threat and a bold move. So, it writes the same story it always has: Play-it-safe.
It's a convincing story.
You don't need to silence the story, you just need to realize that it's a story.
