One of the ideas that is swimming (or flying) around in me for a while now is: find out what you can be great at and develop that.
I called it "your thrive zone" in a message at our men's conference.
Fish swim well. Birds fly well. Birds will only be mediocre swimmers. So be a great bird if you are a bird. Because you are gifted to be great at that.
One of my pressures as a pastor is the expectation of lots of people to be what they want me to be. For them. But I'm not able to be great at everything. No one is. I can be great at a few things.
I bet many people face that same pressure in their world as well.
Focusing on your "thrive zone" is huge. Be great at your greatness.
One of the great concepts to go with this idea is called Zipf's law.
It basically recognizes that no. 1 in anything is categorically higher than no. 2,3, 4 and so on.
It was first discovered in relation to letters in the alphabet and their frequency of usage but it can be applied to almost everything. The no.1 movie of the week is categorically higher than no. 2,3, etc. The no. 1 golfer in the world (Tiger) is way above the rest of the field. No. 1 ice cream favorite (vanilla) is way above all the rest in popularity. And so on.
For us as Christians, it's not about competition with others. It's about being our very best at what we are gifted to do.
Gal. 6:4 Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others.
Gal. 6:5 Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.
Long post, sorry. These ideas fascinate me. More to come.
4 comments
I do not think it matters who you are or where you are, there are always people who expect/demand you to be what they are. How impractical... If we are a body, I do not have need of three hands and no eyes. The people who I choose to live life with should complete not degrade. I think it is easy to point the finger from a distance. Perhaps those who judge so freely need to try a dose of their own judgement.
Posted on July 26, 2007 at 6:07 AM
This idea makes me think of the "You're #1 series" that you did some time back. At first, some people might think that a Christian should never put themselves before others. The airline oxygen mask analogy from that series was the absolute perfect way to make this idea stick: if I don't put my oxygen mask on first, I will not be able to put oxygen masks on all of my children before passing out.
Same with gifts: I have to choose daily to put my #1 gift (being a great Mom) at the top of my list. Soooo many things try to knock my #1 priority out of the #1 spot. It's a daily challenge. One that I'm getting better and better at every day :-)
Posted on July 26, 2007 at 9:40 AM
One of the many things I was awakened to on our trip to Africa was my constant fear of other people. I can remember even as a young girl worrying myself sick over what other people thought about me. I never felt good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, talented enough. I have constantly compared myself to others and in my mind I have never measured up. As a result I have held myself back from receiving and becoming the person God created me to be. Instead of developing the things I am great at, I have hid and sheltered myself from life and from those around me. I have never given 100% of myself to anything, always holding back waiting for life to crash around me. I know why...but I no longer want to use that excuse. I don't want to stand on the sidelines of life watching everyone else live. I was reminded of Pastor Suzette's words at the Women's Night a few months ago when she was speaking about the cloak that we women put on and how it affects other women in our lives. That night I wrote "Fear" on the piece of paper I tore in half and threw away. This trip caused me to face some huge fears that had paralyzed me and instead of bowing my knee to them I chose to trust in my Great, Awesome God! What Amazing Blessings I received! I was in awe of the women in Mali....their presence, their cloak...they gave their very best to us with pure, loving, giving, appreciative hearts. Their worship was unrestrained, pure, giving their all, 100% of their hearts. I want that for my life...I want to play all in. I gave my 3 week notice at work on Monday. I'm going to be staying home with our daughter and I'm going to be available for our sons. God has really placed this on my heart in the last few months. I haven't been the mother they need me to be...I have been complacent. I know that they need me to step up and be great at who God made me to be so that they can become who God made them to be. I am really excited about our future!
Posted on August 1, 2007 at 10:07 AM
Hey, what about flying fish.... oh-just kiddin'! True,true- can't please every body- and operating outside of the Thrive zone- well, that can just be painfull for all involved.Now, what about The Comfort Zone? You have to live outside that sometimes,right? I guess the trick is not confusing the two...
Conforming? Yuk. Transform instead of conform...
"Every thing" we need to know, we learned in Kindergarten- leave your I'm weird shirt at home,share what ya got, and no biting. Wear your heart on your sleeve, not your hangups.
Alright- that was a segway into left field- getting sleepy, and tangent prone.
Pastor Kirk- I think you please God very much.
Rock on, Driggers...
Posted on August 2, 2007 at 10:25 PM