Why Feeling Small Can Actually Bring You Joy

Evelyn Reed · 2026-10-28

We tend to think of awe as something that puffs us up. Stand on a mountaintop, look out over the ocean, and suddenly you feel bigger, more capable, ready to conquer the world. That's the version of awe we celebrate. But there's another side to it, and honestly, it might be the more valuable one. Sometimes awe doesn't make us feel bigger at all. It makes us feel small. And that, as it turns out, can be a genuine relief. ### The 'Small Self' Isn't a Bad Thing Psychologists have a name for this: the small self. It's that shift in perspective when you realize you're one tiny part of something immense. You're a single note in a symphony that's been playing for centuries. At first glance, that sounds almost depressing. Who wants to feel insignificant? But stick with it for a second. Feeling small isn't the same as feeling worthless. There's a quiet freedom in it. When you're not the center of the universe, the pressure eases. Your mistakes loom a little less. The email you've been agonizing over suddenly feels like what it is: one small thing in a very large world. ### Why the Relief Feels So Good Here's the thing about carrying yourself as the main character every single day. It's exhausting. Every decision feels heavy. Every setback feels personal. The small self offers a break from all that weight. When you look up at a sky full of stars, or watch waves crash against a cliff, or stand beneath a towering redwood, something loosens in your chest. You're reminded that you're part of something bigger. Not erased by it. Just held within it. - You stop needing to have everything figured out - Small worries shrink back to their actual size - You feel connected to people, nature, and time itself - The pressure to be exceptional quietly fades ### A Different Kind of Comfort There's a beautiful idea worth sitting with: awe doesn't have to boost your ego to lift your spirit. Sometimes the lift comes from letting go. From admitting you're a small part of a vast whole, and finding that oddly peaceful. > "You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here." — Max Ehrmann That line from the Desiderata captures it well. Being small doesn't mean being less. It means being part of something. And belonging, even to something enormous, is its own kind of joy. ### How to Invite More of This Feeling You don't need a grand adventure to experience the small self. You just need to notice. Take a walk and look up at the trees. Spend a few minutes watching clouds move. Let yourself be genuinely curious about how old the rocks beneath your feet might be. Awe is available in small doses too. A spiderweb catching morning light. The sound of rain on a window. The way a stranger's laugh carries across a room. These little moments remind us we're woven into something larger than our own to-do lists. ### The Takeaway Feeling small isn't something to fear or fix. It's an invitation to loosen your grip, to stop carrying the whole world on your shoulders, and to remember that you're part of a story much bigger than yourself. That's not a reason to feel diminished. It's a reason to breathe a little easier. So the next time awe makes you feel tiny, don't rush to feel big again. Sit with it. There's real joy in feeling small, once you let yourself feel it.