Growing up, I did a lot of different things. Not just school. I was involved in everything. Sports, clubs, not to mention the social life. I was a pretty good student, did fairly well in sports. All in all, I was good at a lot of things. But as I grew older, the number of things I did shrunk due to time constraints. That time constraint? Work.
Think about it. A normal work week is Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to about 5:30 p.m. – 40 hours each week. And depending on the job, those 40 hours may be much, much more. That down time when we’re not working becomes more and more important the less time we have for it. Work, our job, can – unfortunately – become all-encompassing. And that is when we make a critical mistake. Instead of believing we are good at a lot of things, we believe we are good at one thing: Work.
The most important thing I forgot is that – even if I didn’t believed it in my mind – I am not defined by my job, my career. I had grown to believe that I was only good at my job and nothing else. Of course I am not good at everything. No one is. I can’t cook without almost burning down my house or making my family sick. But I am good at a lot of other things.
I have learned that I am actually not a bad parent. Most of the credit in how my daughter turned out comes from her, but I know that I did play some sort of role in who she is today.
I have learned that I am a pretty good friend. I may do a horrible job of keeping in touch with everyone, but I am always available and ready to do whatever when my friends need me.
When it comes down to it and I truly look at myself, I’m actually good at a lot of things. Not just things related to my job. And you are, too. We just need to look beyond what we always thought was important and realize our true selves. Because we are all good at a lot of things.
