Start with Something We Can Do
When we think about a goal, our attention can go straight to what we lack. We may wish we were more confident, more experienced, or better at something that seems essential.
There is another question worth asking alongside those concerns: what can we already do?
Perhaps we listen well. Perhaps we can explain a difficult idea, organize a crowded space, or make someone feel welcome. An ability that feels ordinary to us may be useful to someone else.
We don’t have to be good at everything before making a contribution. If we want to help with a community event, for example, we might offer the one task we know how to do, then learn more as we go.
Our strengths don’t remove every obstacle. They do give us something to work with. Taking one useful action can also show us what we need to learn next, more clearly than thinking about the whole project from a distance.
Name one strength and one place it could be useful. Choose a small action that brings the two together.
Stay with this thought
In my earlier writing, I returned often to the idea of practising an ability. Interest gives us a starting point; practice gives us a way to develop it.
We can begin imperfectly and still pay attention to doing the work well. Ask for feedback, notice what helps, and try again with that understanding. The aim is to become more capable at something that matters to us.