What Are Your Skills?

Everyone is skilled at something. The difficulty is often "pooh-poohing" your skill as unimportant. Find out how that skill can take you to new levels in this mini podcast.

Grasshopper Notes are the writings from America's Best Known Hypnotherapist John Morgan. His podcasts contain his most responded to essays and blog posts from the past two decades. 

Find the written versions of these podcasts on John's website: https://grasshoppernotes.com​​ 

"The Grasshopper" the part of you that whispers pearls of wisdom that  seem to pop into your mind from out of the blue. John's essays and blog posts are his interpretations of these "Nips of Nectar." Others have labeled his writings as timeless wisdom. 

Most of the John's writings revolve around self improvement and self help. They address topics like:

• Mindfulness
• Peace of mind
• Creativity
• How to stay in the present moment
• Spirituality
• Behavior improvement

And stories that transform you to a wider sense of awareness that presents more options. And isn't that what we all want, more options? 

John uploads these podcasts on a regular basis. So check back often to hear these podcasts heard around the world. Who wants to be the next person to change? 

Make sure to order a copy of John's new book: WISDOM OF THE GRASSHOPPER – 21 Days to Creativity. These mini-meditations take you inside where all your creative resources live. And you'll come out not only refreshed but recommitted to creating your future. 

It's only $16.95 and available at BLURB.COM at the link below. https://www.blurb.com/b/10239673-wisd...

Also, download John's FREE book INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change. It's available at John's website  https://GrasshopperNotes.com

Transcript

What Are Your Skills?

Most people are accomplished at something. Some set the benchmark in their area of expertise whether in their job, or profession, their hobby, or in their family. Unfortunately, some people never give themselves credit for what they're good at and, sorry to say, many times other people overlook that skill as unimportant.

For example, some folks are world-class parents. They may struggle financially or lack formal education, but that doesn't prevent them from using this wonderful molding skill to provide a loving and nurturing environment where their children can blossom. Quite often people are quick to discount such a skill and play the “if only” or the “grass is greener” games with themselves. The truth is the grass is just a different shade of green, but it's still only grass.

A zebra that wants to be a lion or vice-versa is missing the unvarnished truth. They don’t recognize their area in which to thrive. My ex-wife used to say that fathers encourage their children to be what they can be and mothers accept their children for who they are. I’m certain there are examples to the contrary but her philosophy seems to be accurate.

A misperceived level of expectation for yourself or for others can lead to frustration and disappointment. Reminds me of a story . . .

Many years ago I was in a career-changing mindset. A friend of mine had just attended a seminar called "The Accounting Game." He was a company owner and wanted to understand accounting a bit more so that his eyes didn’t glaze over when he listened to his accounting people. He raved about the seminar and I got caught up in his enthusiasm. I investigated the company and they had opportunities for you to sell their seminars. I sent away for the information and embarked on a new career path. I wasn’t very successful in making money for them, or for me. They had a great product but I was not having success selling it. I was telling my neighbor about my latest exploits and I saw his brow furrow. He then said something that opened my eyes. “John, you have a wonderful ability to communicate to people and I don’t think that skill was meant for you to communicate someone else’s message.” It became instantly clear that I was discounting my area of expertise and mowing someone else’s lawn.

What are you good at? If you said, “nothing,” you are missing the point. You have a skill set that comes to you as naturally as breathing. Zero in on that ability and see how you can flesh it out to take advantage of opportunities that require that expertise. 

If you want someone else’s skill set, you can certainly take the training necessary to acquire it, but if it doesn’t ring true with your nature, you'll struggle no matter how much knowledge about it you acquire. 

Reminds me of my mom. She was a knowledgeable waitress who had an incredible eye for decorating. She never took a class but she really could arrange furniture and accent pieces to make a room eye-appealing and more than a functional space. It was really her calling but she never pursued it. She worked as an able, but frustrated waitress.

There's the other side of the coin that's equally frustrating. I call it the “Stage Mother Syndrome.” I’m sure you know some parents who push their children into areas that they always wanted to pursue themselves, but never did. The poor kid can’t sing a note but the parents keep setting them up for failure by getting them vocal instruction and putting them into recital after recital.

Many people do that to themselves. They have a false sense of who they are and move in the wrong direction. They take training and acquire new skills but never flower because they have overlooked, dismissed, or discounted their natural skill set. There are many skill assessing methods available if you are still confused about what your natural ones are. (Myers-Briggs, Enneagrams, and others).

But my real message is this: Ease and comfort will come your way when you pursue something that comes easy to you. I wonder how curious you'll get about that today.

All the best,

John