PG huh?!? No silly, PGA.

PG huh?!? No silly, PGA

 

When I was younger I took golf lessons.

My dad would take my brother and I down to the local golf course every Saturday morning, where we learnt all about how to hit the ball, perfect our swing and pretend to be Tiger Woods (the golfing part…wouldn’t condone the other stuff to 5 yr olds…). One of the random ‘drills’ we had to do, was place a big smiley face sticker on the head of the club. Now, at the time, I thought the sticker was there just to look super cool, but it wasn’t until recently that I realised that that sticker actually had a purpose.

It was to identify the ‘sweet spot’.

Sweet spot?!?!

Pretty much, there is a particular point along the head (the part of the golf club you hit the ball with) which when you hit it, makes the ball project further, seemingly ‘effortlessly’. If your golf is anything like mine (with maybe 5 out of 100 shots hitting that sweet shot) you’ve probably stood at the driving range looking out over the ball, placing your hand upto shield the sun, as you ponder why you haven’t joined the PGA tour (or at least how your golden talent remains yet to be discovered.)

So we’re feeling good about ourselves! Yeah! We hit that little sucker and it just so happened a cute boy walked passed at the same time and saw the whole thing! (Dying.)

HOWEVER…

When we don’t hit it in that sweet spot:

1.       Blimey, it hurts the hands (I’m a girl, I can claim that.)

2.       To get the ball even remotely close to the other one, A LOT more effort and strength is needed.

 

Soooooooooo…

I imagine at this point you’re probably wondering where I’m heading with this…

 

Soooooooooo pretty much:

 

 Knowing who we are can be just like finding that ‘sweet spot’ in life.

 

Let me explain:

A few months ago I bumped into a guy that I went to high school with. We had a little mini catch up (as you do) then he started explaining his engineering degree to me, talking about all the complex stuff he was learning in it. As you can imagine my brain exploded (not literally, thank goodness!) How this guy could come up with a draw bridge based off numbers and variables was totally beyond me. I had to remind myself on several occasions to shut my mouth again (because I was amazed at just how smart he was.)

Anyway, when we got to town, we went and got a coffee, which is where he randomly piped up and said “Hey Aspen, this has to be the best conversation I’ve had in a while. You’re really good at communicating.” Wasn’t too hard to be honest, but “Ill receive that compliment anyway.” (I didn’t actually say that. I mean who says “I receive that any way?” Oh….you do Cindy…woops sorry.)

I guess the point I’m trying to make is, I’m not my friend that’s an engineer. He’s talented at engineering. I’m talented at talkin…..g. (Is that even a talent? I don’t know, but I’ll claim it anyway.)

 

You see when we do things we are naturally talented and gifted in, it’s like hitting that ball in the sweet spot. Sure a little work is required, but it feels effortless.

 

Now this is gonna sound pretty harsh, but all too often, it seems, we are trying to achieve things that we just aren’t naturally gifted in. Sure there are times when you’ve got to just suck it up (and work on those assignments), but if your WHOLE DEGREE or job is a drag then why carry on?

Chase after the things you enjoy and are gifted in and watch how far you, like the ball soar (yes, I did just compare you to a golf ball. You’re a lot better-looking though, in my defence). Rather than strive at doing something which we may not get as much enjoyment out of, why not recognise the areas we are talented in and strengthen those areas in our lives.

It’s easy sometimes to forget that we are each uniquely encoded with different talents and gifts. These talents are needed. You are needed and valued. What you have to offer, even if it feels minuet, is actually very important. Imagine if the guy who invented aeroplanes didn’t wake up one day (probably more like a series of trial and error) and gave up. We would never have had aeroplanes (Yes, someone else MAY have come along and designed one anyway, but that’s beyond the point). That guy was needed, because he may just have been the one to suggest inflight entertainment, and imagine how horrible that would have been without that! (*cough* Jetstar *cough*)

At the end of the day, you’re important. The things you have, talents you possess are valued and needed in this big bad (not bad all the time) world.

 

Cool beans. Just a thought. 

 Peace and blessings y’all.