What Are You Really, Really Good At? Live from There
The key is self-honesty
One of the most dangerous things you can do in life is to chase someone else’s definition of success—and be good at it. It's an easy trap to fall into, especially when the world around you is built on metrics that measure performance, prestige, and profit. And unless you live high in the mountains or near a quiet beach, I can understand that this is what you see around you most of the time. You are told to climb higher, compete harder, and achieve more. To tick the boxes that look impressive on paper.
“We exhaust ourselves not in pursuit of happiness, but in obedience to the imperative to be successful.”
Byung-Chul Han, The Burnout Society
But real success has nothing to do with what it looks like from the outside. It has everything to do with how it feels on the inside.
Living a life true to yourself is success.
Inner peace is success.
And waking up energised about the life you get to live is success.
You can have the title, the income, and the praise, yet you still feel empty if you have to abandon yourself to get there. Truth is: we don't burn out from doing too much. We burn out from doing too little of what brings us joy and what actually matters.
Sometimes, we excel at things we were never meant to do. We get good at fitting into boxes we were never meant to live in. We become efficient, praised, and even admired.
“Be who you were created to be, and you will set the world on fire.
St. Catherine of Siena,
Ask yourself: What are you really really good at? Not what you’ve been rewarded for. Not what others expect from you. But what lights you up. What feels like breathing. What reminds you that you’re alive.
“Do not confuse your skill with your soul. What you are able to do is not the same as what you are here to become.”
Joseph Nane Kwame Awuah-Darko, Dear Artists
Whatever it is, don’t overlook it just because it doesn’t come with a special treatment or a bonus. These gifts are not small. They are your compass.
You can build a life not around what is expected, but around what is true.
And then—live from there.
'Do not ask your children to strive'
by William Martin
Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.
