Waking Up...

The challenge. Make a 'specific' list of all of your gifts, talents and abilities. For example, rather than saying you are creative, say "I am a talented photographer". Once you have taken the time to make the list, write a number next to each of the items indicating the number of hours you spent this past week doing them. Ouch!

This was another great exercise in my book titled, "One Month To Live" by Kerry and Chris Shook. Yet, this one really hit me hard. First of all, it takes time to come up with the list. My first inclination was to say that I don't have any talents. That moment passed and then I stalled out in coming up with more than one or two things. Forget about the final task of assigning time allotments, I couldn't come up with the list!

It's a great exercise and one that I encourage you to do, especially while you are still young and have years ahead of you to develop good habits of making time for yourself and those unique gifts that you have been given. For the rest of us, it's a great idea to remember those passions that we've buried deep within.

What's so amazing to me is that for every truly exciting idea that keeps me up at night, I usually have the ability to accomplish it - yet, I don't. Why? Why is it that we're uniquely created to accomplish specific things in life yet we settle for the path of least resistance? We settle for the safe choices, the popular choices, the choices less likely to 'rock the boat'.

I honestly think we need more people willing to rock the boat. We need passionate, excited and talented people standing up for their ideas and for rising above the status quo. When was the last time you were fired up and DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT?

We visited with a friend this past Sunday who told us about a political rally that he just participated in and how doing this elevated his spirit. In the past, he complained about the problems with our government to anyone and everyone. This was the first time he did something about it. Hooray!

In his book "Living Your Strengths", Donald O. Clifton says from a very young age we are taught to be well rounded. Teachers and Adults in our lives attempted to soften our sharp edges, to become smooth and well rounded. According to Clifton, however, what we're often taught is how to become as dull as we can possibly be. We're taught to play it safe, to be compliant, to follow convention and tradition, to color inside the lines and to stay inside the box. God never meant for us to be well rounded, he made us each unique with unique talents, passions, abilities. We should pursue those things we're good at and let go of what we're not.

I've made my list and I'm fired up! I'm excited that there is not another Jan Wood out there and that it's up to me to be all I was meant to be. I am happy to embrace all of my talents and abilities, and to speak up regarding those things that I'm passionate about. I'm going to focus on them and develop them until they flow out of me without my consent.

Watch out world, one more sleeping giant has been awakened!