There are two schools of thought. One is that you should stretch beyond your comfort zone and do things you wouldn’t normally do. In other words, if you’re not good at something, keep practicing and you’ll get better.
The second thought is to just embrace your strengths. This means, put the majority of your time and energy on what you already know you’re good at, and get even better at it.
As usual, my personal opinion seems to fall somewhere in the middle. I like the idea of trying new things so you can figure out what you’re good at. I also like the idea of giving up on things you aren’t good at.
For example, I’m good at things like writing and art. I enjoy both. The more I work on them, the better I am at them.
But I’m not good at gardening.
Exhibit A:
Sometimes people tell me, try this, or do this and you can’t fail. Well, when it comes to plants, I don’t really care that I do fail. I enjoy them. Love the colors and smells. But in the end? I don’t really care. I have an equal number of plastic plants as live ones outside and it just makes people cringe. It’s dorky. I know that.
That flamingo in my planter? Equally dorky.
When my plants die, I put a glass sculpture in their place.
Easy!
The point is, you might be at a place where you’re trying really hard to be something that you just can’t be. Don’t get discouraged. Instead, find the things you’re good at. They’re in there. Maybe they’ve been hidden away because you’ve been focusing on things you aren’t good at, but trust me, your natural talents are there somewhere, and when you engage in those more frequently, the rest won’t matter.
