We have a simple one today. Get some paper and a pen and write 2 lists. One is what you’re good at. One is what you love to
do.
Yes, that’s it. Don’t write it on the computer! Write it the old-fashioned way. I’ve found that gets the brain juices
flowing much better.
Don’t worry about what makes money or what other people tell you ought to be doing. Just write the 2 lists. Should be pretty
simple.
Done? Ok. Now, draw a line from anything on the first list that connects to the second list, or vice versa. Again, this
should be easy enough.
I’ve found that when working with complex matters like life direction, the simplest approaches are often the best. We can
get very tangled up in our heads and about what’s “right” and “wrong,” what we should do (which is usually what we think
others and society think we should do) how we’re going to get there, etc etc etc. Sometimes it’s helpful to get back to
basics and just write something down. Hence, this exercise.
Ok, let’s see what you have. Hopefully you’ve made at least 1 line. If not, that’s ok too. If you’ve made one, I think you
can consider the exercise a success. Take some time to consider the two things you’ve drawn the line connecting. Don’t
decide on anything or quit your day job, just think about it.
How about if you haven’t made any lines? Doesn’t matter. If you haven’t, just throw the first list away.
Yes, you read that right. Throw the list away. The “What Are You Good At” list. (In the dustbin, of course. You could of
course dispose of it in various other ways like burning it or feeding it to your dog, but the whole purpose of this
exercise it to get back to basics, so yeah, just throw it away normally.)
Why did I say to do that? Because when all is said and done, love is more important than proficiency. If you want to do
something but you can’t, you can always learn to do it. It’s far harder (though not impossible) to learn to love something
when you don’t already do. Like I’ve said earlier I’m trying to keep it simple for this article, so I’m following the path
of least resistance.
Now what? You’re done. Like I said before this is a simple exercise. Keep the list, think about what you can do.
Or what you can’t. Whichever way it pans out I hope you’ll have food for thought and something to consider.