WHY YOU'VE BEEN PROGRAMMED TO THINK SMALL

They didn't mean to shrink you.

But they did.

Parents. Teachers. Friends. The world. All whispering the same quiet poison:

"Don't outgrow me."

Every time someone told you to "be realistic," they were really saying "don't make me feel bad about my own settling."

Every time they said "that's impossible," they meant "I couldn't do it, so you can't either."

Every time they dressed their fear up as wisdom and fed it to you as fact.

And you swallowed it whole.

Not because you were weak. Because you were human.

Because when the people you trust most tell you that dreaming big is dangerous, you believe them.

Because when your environment rewards small thinking and punishes big vision, you adapt.

Because survival is stronger than ambition.

Until now.

THE PROGRAMMING

Here's how they did it:

Age 5: "Don't get your hopes up."

Age 12: "That's not a real career."

Age 18: "Pick something practical."

Age 25: "You should be grateful for what you have."

Age 30: "You're too old to change now."

Layer by layer. Excuse by excuse. Fear by fear.

Until your dreams got so small they fit inside other people's comfort zones.

Until you stopped wanting things that might make them uncomfortable.

Until you started calling their limitations your "wisdom."

But here's what they never told you:

Every person who ever told you to "be realistic" was talking to themselves.

Every warning about dreaming too big was their confession about dreaming too small.

Every time they tried to shrink your vision, they were protecting their own story about why they settled.

It was never about you. It was always about them.

THE ANCHOR

Right now, I want you to remember.

Think back to a dream you had—something that lit you up, made you come alive, filled you with possibility.

Then remember the moment someone made you feel ashamed for wanting it.

The look. The laugh. The "advice" that felt like a punch.

The moment you learned that big dreams were dangerous.

Feel that loss.

Not to punish yourself. To reclaim what was taken.

That dream didn't die because it was impossible.

It died because someone else couldn't handle your light.

Time to turn it back on.

THE LIBERATION

You know what the beautiful thing is?

They can't program you anymore.

You're not 8 years old, asking for permission to want more.

You're not dependent on their approval or their comfort.

You don't need them to understand your vision or validate your hunger.

You just need to stop letting their old fears run your new life.

The chains just became visible.

Now cut them.

Your dreams don't need their permission.

Name one dream you buried because someone else couldn't handle it. Just name it. Feel what happens when you do.