‘Strengths’ is a weird word

Oh, hi friends!

What are your strengths? OK, scratch that. Sometimes that’s tricky to answer. 

What are you really good at? What do people ask you for? What do people remember you for? 

Maybe you’re great at picking the perfect restaurant in the perfect neighborhood for the perfect occasion (but they know you’re lost when it comes to movie recs). Maybe people love it when you dig into a really high-stakes dramatic role (but your comedy stuff doesn’t quite land). Maybe people love your long-form work (and barely read your short one-off posts). Maybe you’re super efficient, or skilled at defusing tense situations, or creating five-year plans.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Usually we know what we’re good at: it’s reflected back to us by the responses we get from other people. 

So why aren’t we doing those things more? And more? And more? In whatever forms possible.

Imagine what that would look like—simply doing what you’re good at, more often, and getting positive feedback for it. What a loop!

This is definitely worth 25 seconds of your life. (I’ve watched it six times.) (h/t Marvin’s #1 fan)

“Everyone has a gift to share with the world, something that both lights you on fire internally and serves the world externally, and this thing–this calling–should be something you pursue until your final breath. It could be your actual job, as it was for Einstein. It could be a creative hobby, as it was for Vivian Maier. It could be the care you provide to those around you.

Whatever it is for you, our lives were meant to be spent making our contribution to the world, not merely consuming the world that others create.”

I’ve written before about the struggle to battle consumption and creation, and I like the distinction in this article by James Clear even more. Maybe the struggle is actually consuming versus contributing. Because when you harness what Clear calls “your gifts,” aren't you naturally contributing to making the world a smidge better?

A Five Minute Video in 30 Seconds

Sam Jones talks to Patton Oswalt about why people stop creating: “The only thing that’s stopping you from doing what you want to do creatively is yourself.”

Oswalt talks about how other people—dull, uncreative, uncourageous people from your past—can trigger negative self-doubt. “You’ve gotta find ways to keep yourself feeling healthy,  mentally and physically, to give yourself a better playing field for the positive voices.”

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Thanks, as always, for reading.

Love, Kara