March 27, 2020 — (This post was inspired by some good energy flowing around)
Naturally, we spend a lot of time thinking about ourselves and our faults and our to do lists and the demands on our lives and time. It’s all-encompassing. It’s never-ending. It’s a full-time job, actually. It actually is our job. If we don’t do it, then who will? The need for self-improvement in our lives, our work life, is an ongoing process that began when we were little and continues every single day.
The driving need to achieve, be productive, access our talents and give them to the world gets us out of bed every day and as well it should! The more you work at it, adjusting it as you learn more about yourself, the stronger you become in your resolve that you are on the right path.
The critical piece is to focus on and zero in on what you are absolutely, brilliantly amazing at.
You are capable of countless things.
You are good at lots of things.
You are even excellent at many things, too.
But you are GENIUS at a few special things, things that originate directly from your soul. Those special skills are what make you dance in your skin, where everything flows so easily because it’s your ZONE OF GENIUS. Each and every one of us has one. (Book suggestion: The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks)
Ironically, you recognize everyone else’s ZOGs long before your own, when you get caught up in that magic that radiates out from them making your world a better place. Stop and make a list of people you go to for their ZOG or, if you don’t know what I mean, then make a list of those people that you seek out specifically for that “it” factor. If you’re lucky, you will have a long list!
There are people you (gladly) pay to benefit from their ZOGs: your doctor, your massage therapist, your chiropractor, your fitness trainer, your yoga teacher, your business coach, your counselor, your favorite author, your professional organizer, your aesthetician, your graphic designer, your mechanic etc etc. You KNOW when you have these people in your life because you wouldn’t DREAM of missing an appointment with them and you cry when they move away!! You go to them for their magic and bask in their superpowers and are better for having sought out their help.
Equally important are the are people you befriend for their ZOGs: your amazing friend (the bff) who always listens to every single one of your stories and problems like there’s nothing more important in the world to them, your workout buddy (the accountability partner) that draws you to show up and be the best athlete you can be just by being with them, your neighbor (the connector) who literally knows absolutely every best contact for any problem you might have, the family member (the archivist) that remembers literally everyone and everything about your family, including every story, memory and birthday! These people provide something essential yet so easily to your life that you couldn’t imagine how you’d function without them.
If you’re lucky, you’ll have list of teachers, too, that found the Golden Ticket and were able to pair their ZOG with their career. I know I have a few in mind!
Pay full attention to this next point:
Each one of these “go to” people, the paid and the unpaid, let me be crystal clear, never ever makes you feel inadequate about yourself because you know that you are the benefactor of something that they uniquely are so amazing at that you’d never fault them…instead, you THANK THEM! Even your Head Trash Monster is temporarily silent because it too recognizes and respects a Zone of Genius!
I find that gathering others’ ZOGs around me fills in my gaps, which is a relief because it would be exhausting (and impossible) to try and be AMAZING at everything. So, my advice is to not bark up that insurmountable mountain. Instead, accept the gift that comes your way when you are around someone’s ZOG.
And then, shout out it out to others!! Champion and trumpet their gifts out to the world! (ZOGs grow and strengthen with use) If we all connected with each other’s ZOGs…wow!!!! Fireworks!! Maybe even world peace?
PS — Identify YOURS if you haven’t already. You have one! EVERYONE does. And there are people who NEED YOURS, too! (refer to the book suggestion above, or simply google “find my zone of genius“)
