It’s Safe to Want More for Yourself

When did you start believing that your dreams were too big?

Every day at Televero Health, we work with people who’ve been quietly talking themselves out of wanting more. People who’ve learned to settle for “good enough” because wanting more felt selfish, unrealistic, or somehow unsafe. People who carry a quiet fear that reaching for what they truly want might lead to disappointment, rejection, or judgment.

Perhaps you recognize that feeling. The way you catch yourself when your dreams get too big. The way you edit your hopes down to what feels “reasonable.” The voice that says, “Who am I to want that?”

That voice doesn’t belong to you. It belongs to fear. And it’s keeping you smaller than you need to be.

How We Learn to Want Less

We aren’t born afraid of our own desires. We learn it through experiences:

Maybe you were told your dreams were unrealistic or impractical.

Maybe you watched someone else reach for something big and get hurt.

Maybe you took a risk once and it didn’t work out.

Maybe you grew up in a family where staying safe was valued more than taking chances.

Maybe you were taught that wanting more was greedy or ungrateful.

These experiences teach us to lower our expectations. To want less. To stay in the shallow end where it feels safer. Over time, this caution becomes so familiar that we mistake it for wisdom. We call it being “practical” or “realistic” when really, it’s just fear wearing a disguise.

The Hidden Cost of Wanting Less

When we dim our desires to stay safe, we pay a price:

We lose touch with what truly lights us up.

We settle for relationships and situations that don’t fully nourish us.

We feel a nagging sense of dissatisfaction without knowing why.

We stop growing in the directions that matter most to us.

We live according to others’ expectations rather than our own truth.

This isn’t about chasing external markers of success or adopting someone else’s definition of “more.” It’s about reconnecting with your authentic desires — the ones that feel alive and true for you, even if they don’t make sense to anyone else.

Your Desires Are Information

At Televero Health, we view desires as valuable information. They’re messages from your deepest self about what you need to thrive, not just survive.

When you want more connection, that’s your heart signaling its capacity for deeper relationships.

When you want more meaning in your work, that’s your spirit asking to contribute in ways that matter to you.

When you want more rest, joy, or adventure, that’s your body and mind telling you what they need to feel alive.

These desires aren’t selfish or trivial. They’re your inner compass pointing toward a life that fits you better. Ignoring them doesn’t make you more virtuous — it just disconnects you from your own truth.

Why It’s Safe to Want More

Wanting more doesn’t mean you’re ungrateful for what you have. It doesn’t mean you’re greedy or entitled. It means you’re alive, growing, evolving. It means you’re listening to the part of you that knows what you need.

And here’s the truth: Wanting more is safer than pretending you don’t.

When we suppress our authentic desires, they don’t disappear. They go underground, showing up as resentment, numbness, or a vague sense that something is missing. We might find ourselves making choices we later regret, simply because we weren’t honest about what we really wanted.

Being truthful about your desires — first with yourself, then with others when appropriate — creates clarity. It allows you to make choices aligned with your authentic needs. It helps you build a life that actually fits who you are, not who you think you should be.

Small Steps Toward Wanting More

If you’ve been playing it safe with your desires, start small:

Notice when you automatically downsize your dreams. (“That’s not for people like me.”)

Ask yourself what you’d want if fear wasn’t in the equation.

Practice saying what you want out loud, even if just to yourself.

Take one small action toward something that feels meaningful but a little scary.

Let yourself feel the discomfort of wanting something without guarantees.

You don’t have to act on every desire immediately. Simply acknowledging what you truly want — without judgment or dismissal — is a powerful first step.

Remember: Your desires are not too big. Your dreams are not selfish. Wanting more for yourself doesn’t make you greedy or ungrateful. It makes you human. It makes you real.

And you deserve a life that feels real, not one built around staying small to avoid disappointment.

Ready to reconnect with what you truly want? Start here.