What are you good at?

It’s an exercise I attempted a while back. Probably six months ago. I sat with a blank piece of paper and set out to write a list of 100 things that I am good at. It was hard, really difficult. Modesty kept kicking in. A voice inside me kept saying, well yes you’re quite good at that but not as good as (insert any name). And then I wrestled with the whole concept of good – well, what does good mean? How do I decide whether I am good at something or just average?

In the end, after the list had reached 10 things I decided it was time to cut loose and come back to it. I scheduled to return to this list every week at the same time and add to it until it reached 100 things. No excuses – each time I wrote on the list I had to add 10 things.

It was gruelling! Difficult to find new things each time I sat down. But over time as I worked away at the list adding things that I knew something about, hobbies, ways in which I approached the world, types of food and drink that I had made an effort to find out about. Well, the list just grew.

Each time I sat down again with that list, I would begin by reading through what was there. It was encouraging to revisit it and notice that I had put down what I had.

The list wasn’t for anyone else. It was just for me – to look at what I think I am good at (not better than or the best, just good at) and use that list to focus myself into things that I want to spend time on.

Why don’t you try it too?