Hello friends,

Knowing our skills and interests is important in knowing ourselves and getting to where we want to be.  If we are not interested in what we are doing and doing things we have skill in, where are we going?  Will we get to the end and wish we had done something else? As Zig Ziglar puts it, “You cannot make it as a wandering generality. You must become a meaningful specific.” To be specific, we need to know our skills and interests.  Start with what we know and care about.  If we care about it, it will have more meaning to us.  It sounds basic because it is basic.  By having skills and interests in it, we can go farther as our passion will be more genuine.

As I mentioned in my blog Attributes of the workplace I want(need)… I mentioned that a business should have there own mission statement.  If I want a place to have one, I should have my own.  At the end of of Dan Miller’s book 48 Days to the Work You Love, he asks you to write out your own mission statement.  To create one I need to know my skills and interests.  Typically when I am asked what interests me,  I have a vague answer.  I will say something such as, “nothing specific, hanging out and talking with my friends.” To think that I have answered in that form, even as of last Saturday, makes me cringe a bit. I shall stand on the sixth step, from Andy Andrews’ The Travelers Gift “I will great this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself.”

I never played sports or a musical instrument or had any specific hobbies, so I felt I did not have an answer to give.

As I dug around in my skull I found that I do have skills and interests.

Here are some out of the top of that skull:

• Leadership
• Chopsticks
• Books – specifically nonfiction
• Internet
• Music
• Promotion
• Marketing
• Coffee
• The behind the scenes/extras of films/businesses/writing/etc.
• God and His Son Jesus
• Chemically hot additives for food
• Seeing the opposite to see a middle ground
• Movies
• Customer service
• Honesty
• News that goes deeper than the mainstream
• Technology
• Driving
• Facial hair
• Marriage
• Children
• Design
• Organizing
• Talking to people
• Establishing common sense
• Smiles
• Budgeting
• Operating on cash
• Podcasts
• Private sector versus the public sector
• Healthy eating
• Morals
• Helping others
• …

Making this got me to thinking and learning more about myself and what matters to me.  The next dig will be at personality traits.

Thank you for joining me in this dig.

 

K, bye

Where do your skills and interests show at your work?