There seems to be so much pressure out there these days to “live big.” This message is so irritating. Not everyone has to or wants to “live big.” Not everyone wants to climb a mountain or write a best-seller or start a community organization that feeds hundreds of hungry kids. If you want to do that, that’s great. But do it because you want to, because you love it, because your heart is burning for it. Don’t do it because you feel the need to live a big, loud life, or to be remembered. That’s just a fucking ego trip. And that’s an endless, unsatisfying attempt to feed the small sense of self.
If you want to lead a simple life, and quietly raise a family, or quietly be a good person and do small good things, then do that. But the important thing is not being driven by fear to do — or not do — something.
I realize this is probably the underlying spirit of the term “live big” but the language is all wrong. It comes from our Western (especially American) consumerist ego-driven society. Get out there, do something big, and make sure it’s visible. And if it’s not all over social media, it’s like you don’t exist and it never really happened.
Maybe a better slogan would be “live free.” Free from fear, free from the “should”s. Living free is living authentically and being true to your highest self. It’s saying no to doing that thing that kills your soul. It’s saying yes to that thing you really want to do but doesn’t fit in with your idea or other people’s idea of who you are.
So let’s stop giving a fuck and do what we want, big or small.