Have you ever wondered what it is you are good at doing? This may seem obvious but I think for many of us it gets muddled on our way into adulthood with all of its responsibilities and obligations.
I have found that reflecting on childhood can bring much clarity.
Just ask yourself questions like these:
- When I had free time, what would I be found doing?
- What are my happiest memories from childhood and what do they have in common?
- What did I report that I wanted to be when I grew up?
For me, my great passions of childhood were drawing and reading.
On drawing and coloring
My dad once brought home a fat spiral bound book with an orange cover for me to use for my drawings. I don't know if it was a freebie or if he perhaps purchased it in reaction to my excessive use of paper but I do remember that it wasn't a gift given on a special occasion. He noticed my interests and supported them.
I have memories of drawing and coloring often and enjoying it. A fresh set of markers would bring me great joy. Later in childhood I spent hours creating detailed pencil drawings of objects in my home. Still later in middle school I spent hours after school working on a mural and drawing charcoal still lifes in preparation for a drawing competition.
I distinctly recall in third grade that I wrote that I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. I probably only remember this because I so mangled the spelling that my teacher thought I meant "astronaut" and I had to correct her!
On reading and writing
I cannot remember a time when I didn't love reading. I was the nerd who checked out stacks of chapter books each week at the library and then proceeded to spend hour upon hour reading them all.
I firmly believe that reading flows right into writing and in fifth grade I was sure I would grow up to author children's books. I even wrote a story depicting myself and 3 close friends in adulthood with me as a writer of course. In middle school I was part of the Writing Club (yep, sure was!) and submitted work to literary magazines.
I was especially talented at writing descriptively, which makes sense for someone who is an artist. Strong powers of observation and simply noticing the world in different ways are wired into me.
Back to what I do best
I have to laugh to find myself in my current position of creating art, working and playing with color, reading (researching all thing business things!), and writing here on the blog. I seem to have landed right back to where I began in my childhood.
What about you?
Does this ring true for you? Is there a connection between your childhood pastimes and your current work?
I am very curious to hear from you! Tell us your story!
