Too often, people will put a spotlight on what they didn’t do, can’t do, or will never be able to do. There are some people with many talents, there are some with a few – but, everyone has at least one thing they are great at. If you are not good at one particular thing – don’t get stuck on it.

As a child and young adult, I would always get down on myself when I “messed up” or couldn’t do something. I would constantly repeat to myself, “I can’t do anything right!”  That was such a terrible mindset to have.  It reminds me of the quote by Henry Ford, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right.” At the time, I had tunnel-vision and paid much less attention to the things that I was good at, or things that went right. I guess since those things were effortless, it didn’t seem like such a great talent or task.

This skewed focus also goes for positive vs. negative things people may say about us. 99 people out of 100 may compliment us on something – but, it’s that 1 person with a negative comment that we remember.

The older I got, the more I realized that for everything I couldn’t do, there was something that I could. I began to focus more on those things. Also, I paid less attention to negative comments by others. It took a long time to realize that negative comments had more to do with the person stating them than it had to do with me, especially if it was coming from a disingenuous place. There is not one person who has ever walked the earth that has not been the recipient of negativity. Once you realize that, it is a lot easier to not take it to heart.

Not everyone can be great at everything, and no one is perfect. Embrace who you are, what you can offer others, put your energy into what you are good at, (if nothing comes to mind, just think of the requests that some have made of you), and, once you realize what your talent is, stand up and give yourself a hand.