Give Up Being All Things To All People
Instead, polish the diamond of your uniqueness.
Although I often remind myself not to multi-task, the truth is that I frequently unwittingly practice it.
One day, I found a grater I had misplaced a month before. It was in the basket that held my running gear. I probably had both things in my hand at one time and put them away together.
As I prepared to write this, I started a pan of hard-boiled eggs. After hearing them boiling (I forgot that I had started them and wondered what that noise was), I turned them off and started a 10-minute timer on my tablet for the cool-down period.
I became interested in changing the timer sounds on my tablet, so when the alarm went off, I forgot why I had set it.
Luckily, I was thirsty and went to the kitchen for water, so I noticed the eggs not long after the allotted time for taking them out of the hot water.
Most of us do these things, which are usually small and unimportant.
However, multitasking and trying to be all things to all people dramatically impacts our quality of life and the legacy we leave behind.
I love watching creative reality shows featuring cooking and fashion because I love seeing the awareness people gain by focusing on their uniqueness.
I love the light that shines from them as they learn to express their feelings in a form that others can understand and benefit from.
On one of the cooking shows, one young man refused to state his point of view, even though he knew it was a requirement for continuing.
He said that his talent spoke for itself.
No matter how often he was guided into seeing why finding his point of view and honing it so others could see it was necessary, he refused.
I think he believed they were asking him to give up being multitalented.
However, they only asked him not to multitask his life by trying to please everybody because doing so would hide his uniqueness, meaning he was not fully living his purpose.
Ben Franklin said, "Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sun-dial in the shade."
Realizing and revealing what makes us unique is like stepping into the sun and out of the shade. All our talents become more visible and usable.
Everyone is talented. No one has been left out.
We are all the full expression of the infinite one Creator. However, each of us has a unique blend of qualities, perfectly balanced and perfectly aligned.
That unique blend comes out in various ways for each of us, but the essence of each person remains consistent, and its clear expression is necessary for the whole of creation to be seen in perfect unison and harmony.
Gaining clarity on what we uniquely offer, we accomplish more by letting go of what is not ours to do.
The young man who refused to be specific in his expression missed the point.
No one was trying to hide his talents.
They were polishing the diamond of his uniqueness.
They were preparing him to serve the audience that was looking for him, the one that he is uniquely qualified to serve.
It is sad and dangerous to multi-task our lives by trying to be all things to all people.
Not only can it not be done, but it will make us miserable while we attempt it.
We will misplace many more important things than a food grater and forget many things we want to do that are more important than boiling eggs.
Pretending to be something we are not or not being something we are are two sides to the same coin, resulting in hidden and unused talents.
Oprah Winfrey said, “I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become.”
Dwell on your divine, perfect expression, and let your talent shine.
Let it be clarified and honed. Let it be brought out into the open so that those waiting for it can find and benefit from it.
It takes practice, but the outcome is worth it.
Instead of multitasking your life to please others, choose to express your divine nature in your own unique way.
Know that as each of us makes that decision, all the parts of the divine design of Life will be seen as fitting perfectly together in perfect brotherhood and harmony.
No matter what your unique expression may be, treasure it by using it.
It is the divine made visible, as you.
Here’s a book that will help with that shift—The Four Essential Questions: Choosing Spiritually Health Habits.