Some Things in Life That You Are Not Meant to Be

Today’s quotation:

There are some things in life that you are not meant to be.  Don’t waste your time and tears trying to be them.  Reach for the things you are meant to be, and you will reach your destiny.-Sarah Normile

Today’s Meditation:

I’ve known many people who have pursued things in life that seemed so far away from who they were as people that it was almost sad.  I’ve seen people who have wonderful teaching skills trying hard to become lawyers simply because they determined when they were ten years old that they were going to be lawyers.  Others try to become doctors because they want to make a lot of money.  Some try to become teachers even though they don’t really like kids, and I wondered what I would do if a child of mine got into their classroom.

It’s a great challenge to uncover our authentic selves and to pursue goals that reflect that authenticity.  But it’s one of the most important things that we can do in life if we want to become the people we were born to be.  It’s easy to pursue things we think would be cool and profitable, but it’s not nearly as easy to pursue those things that reflect who we are in an authentic sense.

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to become some things that I simply wasn’t meant to be.  I love music, and I spent a lot of time trying to learn the piano and guitar– unfortunately, though, I don’t have a whole lot of coordination between my two hands, and it’s very difficult for me to continue one line of music with my left hand, and another with my right on the keyboard.  While I don’t really regret the time I spent practicing the instruments I wasn’t meant to master, I sometimes wonder what I could have done for myself had I spent that time on other pursuits.

We all have our strengths and our weaknesses, and it’s a shame when we spend valuable time and energy on pursuits that cater to our weaknesses and that seem destined to add to our frustration.  When we’re able to focus on our strengths, we accomplish more and enjoy ourselves more doing it, and we grow more and more in the direction in which we were meant to grow.  And who can argue with that as a life strategy?

Questions to consider:

What are your greatest strengths?  How much time do you spend developing them?

What do you truly feel you were meant to be in life?  How might you develop your strengths in order to become that?

What kinds of things have you pursued that “just weren’t you”?  What was the result?

For further thought:

My ethical principle in the first place was:
“Where could I use the talents that God
gave me to help the most people?”-John Templeton