Taking Up Space
and celebrating your birthday
While many people like celebrating their birthday with their friends and family, I’m very reluctant to invite everyone and throw a party. Because most of the time, I don’t like to be the center of attention.
Interestingly, I find it super delightful to give someone else the gift of my attention for an entire day. I don’t mind others being the center, like when one of my flatmates insisted on celebrating a full birth month instead of just one day.
For a change, I want to experiment with taking up more space this month. I’ve got this idea at a festival, where I’ve met someone who was struggling with the same thing and just pretended to be different for a week.
To prepare for my experiment, I’ve asked myself a few questions that I’ve included for you below. Whether you’re struggling with taking up space or it’s your default state, have fun!
💡 Reflecting on taking up space
(Like always, you can download the Notion template of this issue of Grow Your Mind to take structured notes.)
In what areas of your life do you feel comfortable taking up space?
Why do you think this happens? Can you also identify any situations where you tend to minimize or shrink yourself?
How do you navigate situations where others are also trying to take up space?
How does this dynamic impact you, your actions, and your decisions?
Imagine a version of yourself that fully embraces taking up space.
What changes would you notice in your life, relationships, and achievements? How could you get more comfortable taking up space in the areas where it matters?
🙏 Thanks!
I would like to take a moment to warmly welcome everyone who has joined the Mental Garden community over the past few weeks. Hi! 👋
This is the first of the two emails I will be sending out each month – one for reflection on a specific topic (like this one), and one where we do something like the Yearly Reflection, but on a monthly level.
Take a look at the Mental Garden Archive to see which topics we’ve already explored (and let me know what topics you’d like to reflect on by replying to this email).
Wishing you a great start to 2024.
With gratitude,
Marc