Taking Up Space

Taking up space is the practice of confident people. Confident people are thought to be more likely to succeed in life, and therefor more likely have more satisfying lives.

It seems to me that this idea of taking up space is what makes successful people successful. We need to know that we are important and we have value to share with the world. Taking up space can be physical space, or intellectual space. I can walk into a meeting and sit in the back with my legs crossed and my eyes down, or I can sit at the front with good posture and eye contact. I can keep my opinions to myself even if I think they might be relevant to the task at hand, or I can let people know that I think I have value to add to the discussion.

Mostly I think this idea of taking up space is intended to boost your confidence simply by acknowledging that you have the right to be confident.

Do you want to take up some space, and get what you want?

Start by being a little selfish. This does not involve hurting others or being a horrible person. All you have to do is notice when you’re being “selfless” and decide what you actually want. Here are some examples:

If you and your partner are putting on a movie, your partner might ask, “What movie do you want to watch?” Now a year ago I would have said, “Whatever you want.” because I didn’t really care that much and I want to make my partner happy. But these days when my partner asks me a question I think about it for a moment and say, “Something funny, or something with Bruce Willis.” or “I want to watch the fist half of The Notebook, skip the part where they break up, and fast forward to when it starts raining and then I want you to aggressively go down on me until after they fuck…then I want to fuck” Hey, the more specific the better! Sorry for the spoilers…but seriously if you haven’t seen it yet…

Taking up space doesn’t have to be just when you’re asked either. You can take up space the moment you realize there’s something you want that you can have without hurting anyone. So taking up space might mean saying, “I’m going to take a walk, wanna come?” or “I’m going to masturbate, wanna watch?” The key to taking up space in a positive way is knowing what you want, and understanding that you have the right to get it (as long as no one gets hurt and everything is legal).