A fictitious story based on a rather natural tendency.

I was guiding someone in creating a personal medicine wheel, a task I often do with individuals receiving spiritual counseling support from me. After creating a wheel and inviting her to create four quadrants—physical, emotional, spiritual and mental—I asked her to take note of her strengths and abilities in each of those four areas.

When she finished noting her strengths, I asked her to note areas she would like to develop within those four quadrants. She completed a rather lengthy list about what she would like to develop. I commented on the length of her to “to do” list compared to her rather short “has accomplished” list. Then I invited her to take greater note of her skills, abilities, and accomplishments.

I suggested she investigate his life as though she didn’t really know herself yet to discover the depth and breadth of the gifts she brought with her to this world, the talents she has developed, and the accomplishments she has achieved.

Isn’t it easy to recognize everything we want to be and accomplish, without really recognizing what already bring to our lives and the lives of others? It is often easier to see our perceived short-comings, than it is to see what makes us truly unique and remarkable.

For a prayer honoring the uniqueness of you: http://newdreamfoundation.com/forums/index.php/board,38.0.html

Yet, when it comes to the medicine wheel of who you are—the circle of life reflected through you—your gifts, talents, abilities and accomplishments are a significant part of who you are. They are also the strengths that you bring to the challenges you face.

Imagine being an electrician and not knowing what tools are in your tool box to address a problem. Imagine being a teacher and not knowing what resources are available to you when you encounter a troubled child having difficulty learning.

It helps to know what tools you have in order to assess what tool you most need to use when you are developing yourself. Here is an example. Let’s say you love to do research and are very good at doing it. Let’s say you also have a desire to lose weight. You might do better treating your weight loss program as a research opportunity than adopting a system that is not as in sync with your natural talents and proclivities.

On the other hand, let’s say you have an exceptional ability to hold your emotions in great compassion. Let’s say you also have a goal of becoming a desired weight that is less than it is now. You might do very well addressing your emotional feelings and motivations in order to support yourself in your weight change.

In a world where “how to” has too often become “do what I do and you will be successful,” it is easy to lose site of the unique talents, perspectives, knowledge and abilities that you bring to any given challenge or opportunity. When you adopt a “how to” method that aligns with your natural tendencies and talents, you are far more likely to get the results you desire, adding to the gifts you are now able to bring to your world.

Please allow me to invite you to get to know how remarkable you are. Think of yourself as the investigator of a mystery—and the mystery is you. Discover just what it is about you that makes you incredible and remarkable!