If you hear a piece of advice or insight one time, perhaps you can take it with a grain of salt (depending on the messenger). If you hear the same advice multiple times from different mentors you trust and who know you well, you'd better believe you should pay attention.  

Recently, I’ve had several mentors encourage me to ‘think bigger’. And they’ve given me concrete examples of what that could look like in practice. It is extremely touching when mentors see something in you before you see it in yourself. 

Now, I can’t quite tell whether I haven’t allowed myself to think bigger or if I just have a natural tendency towards gratitude for what I have. I actually believe it’s the latter. 

The truth is that I’ve already surpassed the financial circumstances I grew up in. Plus, I’m not someone who has a lot of desire for material things. I’ve witnessed family members stuck in cycles of poverty, incarceration, homelessness, and substance abuse that led to an early grave. In contrast, this life of stability and peace I’ve built for myself over the last 20 years fills me with immense gratitude.

But what I’ve come to realize is that the reason for my thinking small doesn’t really matter. It is imperative that I BUILD this muscle of thinking bigger if I am going to create a greater impact and serve others on a larger scale.