I recently completed an examination on aptitudes where you can clearly see "natural" abilities. You cannot train for the examination but it became clear that some things feel easier than others.
Your article reminded me that as we seek the "perfect system," we can come across things that aren't suited for our own natural abilities or preferences. Even if we can somehow integrate them, they will always feel foreign.
I have spent the last months thinking on how to shift my work (and life) into more of these natural abilities. My hunch is that things will feel more enjoyable and there will be less of a "struggle."
Thanks for commenting. "...we can come across things that aren't suited for our own natural abilities or preferences. Even if we can somehow integrate them, they will always feel foreign." People often take on work that require them to develop skills which aren't well aligned with their 'natural abilities.' What I've noticed is if the person has a strong 'Why' - that is, a strong internal reason or cause in which they are highly invested - that they learn and quickly move beyond the stage where such work/skills feel foreign and experience less of a 'struggle.' But, if the 'Why' is external or the work/skill is "required" but not well-aligned, that struggle is inevitable.
The joy of growing and becoming more senior in your career is that you can increasingly filter out all of the work which not well aligned or a struggle and focus instead deepening your natural strengths. Of course, this is not to say that we shouldn't continue to learn new skills, experiment with new ways of being if we like, and continue to grow as beings- continuous learning is critical.
Thank you Janine for including me in your very in point article! This was a fantastic read and I think that many get stuck in the first stage of clarity due to overload of information, how-tos and influence of the โsupposedly right wayโ.
And Iโm thrilled to see youโre based in Provence, Salut ๐๐ผโจ Elin, x
Thank you, Elin! Your post resonated so much with what I was writing. I think we get stuck in the first stage of clarity as well; things improve with clarity, but, in my experience, many also get stuck looking for the 'right way' when we're taking on new activities, or stretching ourselves in new ways. The more we stretch or raise the bar, the more we must develop ourselves - making a new self, making new choices and then thinking the new thoughts and feelings, and acting out the new behaviours of our present-future self. It is in these stages as well that I wish for people to continue to go inward rather than look externally, because the true answers lie within. Lovely to meet you here on Substack and I'm enjoying your articles.
I recently completed an examination on aptitudes where you can clearly see "natural" abilities. You cannot train for the examination but it became clear that some things feel easier than others.
Your article reminded me that as we seek the "perfect system," we can come across things that aren't suited for our own natural abilities or preferences. Even if we can somehow integrate them, they will always feel foreign.
I have spent the last months thinking on how to shift my work (and life) into more of these natural abilities. My hunch is that things will feel more enjoyable and there will be less of a "struggle."
Thanks for commenting. "...we can come across things that aren't suited for our own natural abilities or preferences. Even if we can somehow integrate them, they will always feel foreign." People often take on work that require them to develop skills which aren't well aligned with their 'natural abilities.' What I've noticed is if the person has a strong 'Why' - that is, a strong internal reason or cause in which they are highly invested - that they learn and quickly move beyond the stage where such work/skills feel foreign and experience less of a 'struggle.' But, if the 'Why' is external or the work/skill is "required" but not well-aligned, that struggle is inevitable.
The joy of growing and becoming more senior in your career is that you can increasingly filter out all of the work which not well aligned or a struggle and focus instead deepening your natural strengths. Of course, this is not to say that we shouldn't continue to learn new skills, experiment with new ways of being if we like, and continue to grow as beings- continuous learning is critical.
Thank you Janine for including me in your very in point article! This was a fantastic read and I think that many get stuck in the first stage of clarity due to overload of information, how-tos and influence of the โsupposedly right wayโ.
And Iโm thrilled to see youโre based in Provence, Salut ๐๐ผโจ Elin, x
Thank you, Elin! Your post resonated so much with what I was writing. I think we get stuck in the first stage of clarity as well; things improve with clarity, but, in my experience, many also get stuck looking for the 'right way' when we're taking on new activities, or stretching ourselves in new ways. The more we stretch or raise the bar, the more we must develop ourselves - making a new self, making new choices and then thinking the new thoughts and feelings, and acting out the new behaviours of our present-future self. It is in these stages as well that I wish for people to continue to go inward rather than look externally, because the true answers lie within. Lovely to meet you here on Substack and I'm enjoying your articles.