Allowing yourself to soar.......

Everyone has a talent.  Everyone.  I totally believe that.  The people who actually soar are those who choose to believe in their talent. I have struggled throughout my life to actually recognize my talent.  I'm a people-person. I tend to do well in jobs in which I can use my people skills. If I'm in a job that doesn't utilize those skills, I'm pretty miserable. How do I know that's my talent?  When I worked in a psychiatric hospital, the staff would call me to come into situations where patients needed calming down. And I instinctively knew how to do it.  I worked with a variety of people in my social service career. And I was rarely at a loss or unable to figure out the way to work with them. A psychiatrist  I worked with one time tracked me down to hire me.  And he later told me why: "You are good at schmoozing". Pretty basic, huh?  I'm a people-person.  I love to talk to people. I don't shy away from talking about tough topics. And I listen well....to the message that is presented.  And the underlying feelings. I haven't always been confident about those skills.  I've struggled to find a way to make them pay off for me. I'm not necessarily talking about in the financial sense.  I had difficulty recognizing that I was good at what I did and was entitled to success.

 I'm an older adult now. I don't want to work in complex and difficult types of positions. So, I've chosen to keep it simple and work in retail.  My people skills truly work in that job. However, I've also chosen a 'side-job' that fits more with my passion. And that is blogging about mental illness. I started out with an audience of about 25 for each post.  I now range between 200 and up to 500 for each post. The end result is that I now have over 62,000 views on this blog. Quite a bit of growth. Even though my social media efforts are still kind of limited due to time. When I started writing, I had no clear concept of what the end goal was.  Now, I believe totally that my book will eventually be published. What is the point of telling you this?  I've learned that the only way I will soar is if I believe in myself.

What led to this discussion?  A friend who has been very successful with an art and marketing career received a nasty note from a hater. And it rattled her. I've watched this woman grow in her career. I've been awe-struck each time I saw her take a risk and make it pay off.  I've watched her work through issues in her personal life and seen that she has strength.  I've enjoyed hearing about her recent marriage and how much she loves her children. And, frankly, I'm a fan. I look at her and I'm inspired. So, my dear friend, please don't let hate pull you down. You have what it takes. That is clear.  No life is perfect.  But you do an awesome job of working for what you want. And the impact that you've had is wonderful.  I know that I'm not the only one who sees it.  Sending love...