Recently my sister told me about a book called Cure for the Common Life; Living in Your Sweet Spot by Max Lucado. The premise is based on looking at your past (childhood, adolescents and early adult) to discover areas where you are designed to excel in. It is a modern twist on personalities and slightly more self-introspective. In the book he asks you to pull out memories of a time when you felt accomplished or proud and look for common keywords or strengths.
My Childhood
- My elementary school happened to be in the same building as my dad’s work which meant that after school ended I could go to his office until he was done at work instead of the dreaded daycare. I had a small posse that were in similar situations and we would always get together to play. One of our rooms we hung out in was right next to the building entrance and reception area and the door was so heavy that whenever we would enter or exit it would slam with an echo throughout the entire building. I had the brilliant idea to climb out of the window instead since we were on the first floor and be more considerate of others. So we did, we climbed in and out with no problem… we were as quiet as a mouse. During my turn to climb out one of the daycare teachers happened to be walking by and not only railed into me for being “bad” but went and told my dad. I, of course, got into big trouble but I still stand by my solution and am quite proud for being conscious of the issue and finding a unique way to elimate the initial problem.
- Other wins: 1st place in the regional poem recital contest in 2nd grade, excelled at all math contests like around the world.
My Youth
- In highschool I started a club called “Girls Standing Strong” where Juniors and Seniors would mentor JR High girls. Before we launched we had a retreat weekend in San Francisco to bond and learn more about ourselves. In my head I had an idea of what I wanted this weekend to look like so I took my poor mother to every hotel in San Francisco until I found the perfect spot and then negotiated until prices matched my budget. I even compiled scholarships so every mentor could attend.
- Other wins: Always standing up for underdog, ASB Entertainment Director and bringing in the largest crowds to events
My Adulthood (and still going…)
- After traveling to Ethiopia with Streams of Life International, we were to do a trip recap for all of our non-profit givers. (Large room / roughly 300 people) I had already secured that I would not be speaking and only had to stand up when our portion was talked about to look pretty.
But once all the speakers were done the feeling were a bit dry and unmoving. So I had a one second warning in a side glance from SOLI’s founder, Ashley, before I was announced and handed a microphone. Unprepared I talked about starting the trip as the photographer and seeing the experience behind my lens but as I was keeping everything at arms length I was taken away from camera and put on the front line doing patient intake for the clinic with a translator. One after one, I met people with bugs in the brain (a headache), pain in the chest (bullet wound with bullet still in chest), and a new mother bleeding from childbirth but too afraid to go to the hospital. My heartbreak resonated with the audience and Ashley was grateful for life to come back to the trip. - Other wins: Setting the curve in my upper division marketing class, decorating my apartment creatively and cheaply
The next step was to analyze my moments of success and pull out important strengths. What I found was:
- Take risks
- Evoke emotion
- Thinks quickly and outside of the box
- Motivates others to action
- Optimize
- Find solutions
Then I took it a bit further and brought in some fresh eyes and someone who has had experience working with me and we came up with:
Visualize a different future >> Take something & make it fresh >> Optimize potential
I definitely recommend reading this book and taking the time to find your sweet spot. My next blog is all about another book I read and finding my strengths followed by what I think it all means.
