It’s time to identify the place in which you shine brightly. Everybody has something special to bring to this world.
What are you good at and love doing?
What’s the thing that made you shine when you were a child? Reflect on any carefree moments you might have had as a child; what made you happy? What did you love doing with any free time, or what did you dream about doing?
Working out what they were built for is a massive challenge for many people. I spent my adult years (and most of my childhood) until I was 41 wondering what I wanted to do with my life. Saying it that way makes it sound so vast and final, like this is the thing. There may be only one path and a single way to do life. The truth is that today, there are so many ways to do something and so many dazzling options that the only thing stopping us is us. We are so busy thinking about what we might like to do, and the fear of not making the right decision becomes a stumbling block.
How do I find my sparkle?
The big key is to get out of your comfort zone and challenge the status quo. Try something you have never done before. I was getting down on the idea that I rely on my husband for income. If he couldn’t work, I could never match his income with my skills. Of course, I couldn’t go back to school as I still didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, so what else?
My younger brother had started an e-commerce store, and I decided that doing something along those lines was within my reach. So I had a crack at it. I learned to set up an online shop, how to do essential marketing and all the issues that come with drop shipping. The learning curve was huge. I was still feeling unfulfilled, so I began writing and using the skills I had learned from the shop. I thought that with some marketing, I could share my stories with an audience and maybe help encourage some people along the way.
It was a side thing that quickly became “the thing”. Without stretching my boundaries with the online shop, I would never have built the courage to step out with my Growing Glenda blog. I always felt I had something to share. I am a storyteller, but what is the point of a story without the audience gaining something from the story? Now I had the chance to share.
Keeping it manageable
Juggling these two things, I realised I had lost sight of my essentialist tendencies. The ones that cause me to say no to many offers and keep things simple and streamlined. There I was running two different websites, one of which was requiring more and more attention and wasn’t fitting with my values. My shine was losing its brightness, and I had to ask myself if there was any good reason to continue down this path or make a slight adjustment to create a significant difference in the result.
I decided to give my full attention to the Growing Glenda site and offer some of my favourite products here instead of the extensive range of choices on the other site. I am nowhere near knowing the result, but I am excited again now that my focus is where my creative passion is and in remembering that the choice is entirely mine. My course can be adjusted at any time guilt and apology-free.
The funny thing is it was always there, I love to tell stories and I love to help people! I always have. Try not to overcomplicate it xx