To be human is to be anxious. To be anxious is to plan our way out of an anxiety-provoking situation. I call those playing-it-safe. We all play-it-safe. Who doesn’t play-it-safe?
You might be playing it safe if you …
- Get stuck thinking doom and gloom scenarios.
- Ask others what to do so you don’t make a mistake.
- Doubt yourself and your ability to handle challenging situations.
- Dwell on past mistakes and troublesome situations or think often about terrible scenarios in the future.
- Avoid situations or people that make you feel uncomfortable even though it cause you problems.
- Put off an activity when it’s too overwhelming but beat yourself up because you’re not getting it done.
- Are overly careful about what you’re saying, how you’re saying it, and what you’re doing so you don’t make mistakes.
Your playing-it-safe moves might feel right at the time, but they can also keep you stuck in your head for hours and push you to make ineffective choices in your life.
In this podcast episode, I share with you in detail what’s a playing-it-safe move, how you can keep an eye on those playing-it-safe moves, and how you can check whether those playing-it-safe moves are working for you or against you.
Learn which playing-it-safe moves are working against you and how to change them.
Here is what you need to do:
- Listen to this episode from the beginning to the end.
- Then, take 7 minutes to complete the Playing-It-Safe Questionnaire
https://www.thisisdoctorz.com/playing-it-safe-questionnaire/ - Figure out your Playing-it-safe profile
Knowing how you play-it-safe safe and how you rely on familiar thinking strategies that keep you stuck is crucial to make a difference in your life.
Table of Contents
TEDx talk: Stop playing-it-safe and start living
Description:
Do you spend hours in your head thinking about something that happened, could have happened, or might happen? Have you ever thought of a situation, over and over, trying to come up with the best decision but didn’t take any action? How often do you over-prepare so you don’t make any mistakes? When was the last time you postponed a project because it wasn’t good-enough? Do you minimize your needs so you don’t rock the boat in a relationship? We all play-it-safe by thinking in a particular way or acting in a particular way; it’s cozy and familiar to do what your cautious mind pushes you to do. The challenge is when those playing-it-safe moves take a like on their own.
In this talk, Dr. Z describes why you play-it-safe, identifies the look, feel, and sound of the most common playing-it-safe moves, and teaches you micro-skills to check whether those playing-it-safe actions help you to be the person you want to be or not.
