Have you ever looked at your life and asked yourself, “What exactly am I doing here?”.... I have asked myself this question more times than I can remember. Sometimes, it happens when I'm alone with my thoughts. Other times, it comes when I see people doing amazing things with their lives, and I start wondering what I am doing with mine.
You know that feeling when it seems like everybody has figured things out except you? Someone has a successful business, someone is making money from their talent, and someone else seems to know exactly where they are going.
Then there is you, still trying to connect the dots... Honestly, it can be frustrating sometimes.... When I came across the phrase, “Identify your talent, and your purpose will reveal itself,” it got me thinking. What if the reason some of us are still searching for our purpose is that we haven't really paid attention to the things we are naturally good at?
Or maybe we have noticed them but don't consider them special enough.
What Are We Really Good At?.... When people talk about talent, the first things that come to mind are usually singing, dancing, drawing, acting, or playing football.. We often think talent must be something extraordinary that makes people gather around and applaud but I don't think it always works that way.
Some people are naturally good at listening to others, then Some can explain difficult things in a way that makes them easy to understand while Others know how to bring people together, solve problems, or make someone laugh even when they are having a bad day... These things may not look like much, but they have value.... The problem is that sometimes we are so busy looking at what other people can do that we fail to appreciate what we can do ourselves.
Imagine someone who is naturally good at writing but keeps telling themselves it is nothing because they are not making money from it yet. Or someone who is good at business but hasn't discovered how to turn that ability into something bigger... Does that mean they have no talent? I don't think so.... Sometimes, we need to develop what we already have instead of spending all our time searching for something new... Of course, talent alone won't solve everything but you still need to learn, practise, make mistakes and put in the work but at least recognising your strength gives you somewhere to start.
What If Your Purpose Takes Time?... Another thing I have been thinking about is why we put so much pressure on ourselves to figure everything out quickly because There is this expectation that once you reach a certain age, you should know what you want from life... You should have a clear direction, a good career, financial stability and probably a plan for the next ten years but life doesn't always follow that arrangement... Sometimes, you try something and discover that you are not interested in it anymore... Sometimes, you start learning a skill because you need money only to discover that you genuinely enjoy it and then sometimes, you can spend years doing something without realising how good you have become at it...
Does that mean you have wasted your time? Not necessarily. You may have been learning things that will become useful later... I am beginning to understand that not having everything figured out doesn't mean you are doing badly in life... We are all learning at different speeds and comparing our journey with someone else's can make us feel behind even when we are making progress.
Besides, you never really know the full story behind another person's success... Talent Is One Thing, Purpose Is Another... I also don't think discovering your talent automatically reveals your purpose because You might be good at something but what you choose to do with that ability matters too...
For example, someone who is good at communication can use that skill to educate people, build a business, entertain others, or even manipulate them. The talent is the same, but the way it is used makes a difference.... That is why I believe purpose has something to do with what we value and the kind of impact we want to make... What do you enjoy doing even when nobody is watching?... What do people often come to you for help with?.. What problems do you find yourself wanting to solve?
Sometimes, the answers to these questions can tell us more about ourselves than we realise and no, you don't have to change the whole world before your life can have meaning. Sometimes, helping one person, doing your work well, or using your ability to make life a little easier for someone else is already something worthwhile... Maybe I'm Still Becoming Who I'm Supposed to Be and if you ask me whether I have completely figured out my purpose, I can't honestly say that I have... I still have things I want to achieve, skills I want to develop, and parts of myself I am still trying to understand but perhaps that is part of the journey..
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