It’s Day 4 of the 10 Day Blogging Challenge and I love today’s task. A while back, I did a Periscope broadcast on one really simple exercise that I recommend to help work out what to do with your life. You can watch that here: What on EARTH do I want to do with my life?*
This table is a simplified version of the process I went through when I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I knew that I needed to do something that I enjoyed doing, for the sake of my health. I also knew that it probably needed to be something I was good at in order to be successful. So I made a list of everything I loved to do and everything I could think of that I used to love doing as a kid before I got caught up in ‘real life’. At some point I also made a list of stuff that I thought I was good at. I actually discovered what I wanted to do with my life prior to finding this exercise, but I wish I’d known about it back then!
About 2 years later, I was listening to a class by my coach who mentioned that just because you’re good at something, doesn’t mean you’re going to want to spend your days doing it: you need to enjoy it too! A light bulb went on. How much do I enjoy doing something vs. How good am I at something? Rating each item on the list on a scale of 0-10 then compare the ratings between ‘good at’ and ‘enjoy doing’ could really help others with the same struggle out! As a general rule, if someone rates an item on their list as less than 7 in either category, it probably doesn’t make the shortlist. (Although some people score themselves more harshly than others.)
Back to the Day 4 task: Discover your (what Natalie Sisson refers to as) ‘superpowers’ by making a list of things you are good at and things that you enjoy doing. Natalie also suggests to ask friends, family and colleagues what they think you’re good at. This can be really useful for you to do but make sure those you choose to ask are people you really trust to be supportive.
In no particular order, my ‘superpowers’ are… [dramatic pause]
- Writing
- Connecting with other people
- Problem solving (I mean helping people come up with solutions to their problems, not maths. Urgh, no.)
Now, what are your ‘superpowers’? Has it helped you gain clarity about the kind of work you want to spend your time doing?
If you’d like help gaining clarity on the results of this exercise or what comes next, email me at ellouiseheather@mail.com
*It starts out pixelated but it fixes itself. (You might need to install the Periscope app on your phone or tablet to view it.)
This blog post is in response to Natalie’s 10 Day Freedom Plan Blog Challenge Day 4
