LIGHT UP!

Discovering the gifts that light you up.

I remember junior and senior year of high school was the most exciting and stressful time of my teenage years. I had no clarity about what it is I was supposed to do with my life, I also did not have the best career guidance from the adults in my life nor from my guidance counselor at school. But I look at my career today and I really cannot explain how I got here. Had I been introduced to the idea of gifts and talents and purpose early on, my journey would have been much smoother and faster.

I met with a young lady this week, a senior in High School and she had questions about what should do with her life. She wants to go to law school because people have told her that she argues well, she could do nursing because her mom says it’s a great idea, she hates math and doesn’t really like science. None of which seemed exciting listening to her, so I then asked her what she likes to do, hobbies what she really enjoys, and there it was, her face lit up as she said “I like to do hair,” she lit up, talking about hairstyles and the gratification of producing the perfect hairstyle.

She and I spoke for about 2 hours, and at the end of the conversation, I went back and asked her again, what do you enjoy doing and she said “I like doing hair” then I asked what she wants to do and she said, “I really want to do hair.” So I told her to start there, learn how to do hair, register to get a license as a cosmetologist and do hair on the weekends, in the evenings, any free time, while she gets a college degree in English to support her plan and her families vision of law school.

Having spoken to her and watching her face light up as she talked about hair, I can say that she should stick with hair styling because she lights up when she talks about I believe she will be most successful doing that than law or nursing.

So my question to you is, what lights you up? Are you doing that thing now? Are you working towards it? Or is it tucked away where no one can see it, where no one can experience the joy of your gift? Whatever excites you is what you should be doing at least once every week for 10 minutes or for one hour. It doesn’t have to be the primary job you have; it doesn’t even have to be a job, it could simply be a hobby, it could be as simple as volunteering an hour of your time each week to keep the light from dimming.

How do you discover what lights you up?

1. Pay attention, slow everything down and pay attention to yourself. Discover the things that you smile when the topic comes up, the thing(s) that you are quick to say yes to when people ask for your help.

2. Do not question it or hesitate, just do it. The worst thing that could happen is that you find out you do not like it, but at least you have eliminated one option and can focus on the next thing.

3. Stop listening to the opinion of others. Truly pay attention to yourself and what drives your energy. Once you can quiet all of the voices, you will discover what lights you up.