If You Have to Make a Choice, Choose the One That Creates a Bigger Life

I was listening to Lori Gottlieb on Andrew Huberman’s podcast the other day, and she said something that grabbed me by the soul:

“If you have to make a choice, choose the one that creates a bigger life.”

Whew.

That line stopped me in my tracks because it put words to something I’ve been living and also resisting for years. See, I’ve made a lot of hard choices. Some that cracked me open. Some that freed me. Some that felt like losses, but turned out to be liberation in disguise.

And if I’m honest, most of the time when I’ve played small or chosen the “safer” option, it wasn’t because I didn’t want more. It’s because I was scared. Scared of disappointing people. Scared of dropping one of the plates I’m spinning. Scared of being too much or not enough. Scared of what might unravel if I allowed my life to get bigger.

But bigger doesn’t mean louder, busier, or flashier.

Bigger means more aligned. More expansive. More true.

It means stepping into the rooms that stretch you. Saying yes to the unknown when it calls your name. Having the conversation you’ve been avoiding. Going back to school. Leaving the thing that’s slowly draining you. Starting the thing that won’t leave you alone. It means refusing to shrink, even when it would be easier to stay in your lane.

As someone who’s been through a lot motherhood, business building, loss, divorce, rebirth, I can tell you, the “bigger life” choice rarely feels convenient. But it always feels right in your body when you’re brave enough to pause and listen.

That’s the life I want.

Not the life that looks good on paper.

The one that feels like freedom in my bones.

So if you’re standing at a crossroads, let me offer you the same reminder Lori gave me:

Don’t choose based on fear. Choose based on expansion.

You already know which path leads to a bigger life.

And I’ll be right here, cheering you on as you walk it.

– Sherri Lee Sunshine