From the desk of Kelsey Buell,
Is there a skill that you have that you’re in denial about?
Or that you know you have, but you’ve tried to hide because you feel it’s a bit “outside the box” or different?
For me, for the longest time, it was my violin playing.
I started playing violin when I was only 7 years old.
(My mom says I was begging her to play it since I was 3 or 4, of course, I don’t remember…)
I excelled pretty quickly at the instrument when I was in elementary school.
By the time I got into middle school, although I continued to play, I all of a sudden began to hide this skill of mine.
You see, when I was young I kept telling myself the lie that playing the violin and playing in an orchestra was “nerdy” and I was embarrassed of it…
I was trying to “fit in” with the cool crowd.
I kept this skill to myself….but I did continue to master the skill, even if I was more just going through the motions and hiding it from others.
Fast forward to after college…
I decided to play with a church worship team…not because I loved playing, but solely because I wanted to lean into my Christian faith and serve in the church.
But from there, something amazing happened.
I was then asked to fiddle at an Irish pub…
…followed by playing in an 80s rock band.
…followed by playing center stage at the Fargo Civic Center in front of hundreds of people for an event hosted by the Governor of North Dakota.
I was no longer hiding my skill and better yet, I was actually LOVING playing the violin.
It was something I had known all along that I was good at, but was too afraid to share with the world because of my perception of it not being a “mainstream” skill.
And the truth was, I was pretty great at the violin.
This extremely unique skill that many people don’t have…
So let me ask you this.
What is your unique ability?
I promise you….you have one!
Is there a skill you know you have that you’ve been hiding?
Something that you’ve been ignoring for a long time now?
Maybe even like me, a skill that, if you lean into, you’re worried what others may think of you?
The truth is, we all have God-given talents that we are destined to use.
I am here to encourage you to follow that “nudge” inside your heart.
Take a leap of faith and see what happens.
Don’t know how to uncover your hidden talents? Here are 3 tips for discovering them:
- Reflect: Write out a list of job-specific skills and soft skills that you’re proud of. After brainstorming, circle your top picks and think about how you can lean into those more in your day to day.
- Play Detective: Ask your friends, family, and current and past coworkers…”What do you think I’m really good at?”
- Celebrate: Think about your accomplishments throughout your life. When were you happiest and the most proud of your work? Dig deeper to truly think about why.
If you need a little more help, grab your ticket today for our 2023 Women’s Goal Setting Summit on January 13th where we’ll talk about leaning into your talents!