Yesterday I wrote about how you need to be spending at least 60% of your time in areas of strength and passion. But what if you’re not sure exactly what those areas are? I believe that every five years or so, we need to spend some time reflecting on how God has made us, how he has gifted us, and what he has called us to do. With more experiences, I think our areas of strength and passion can grow and shift over time– not dramatically, but somewhat. And when we know what those areas are right now, we can take steps to align our work and ministry accordingly.
One book I’ve found that’s been really helpful to me in this area is Finding a Job You Can Love by Mattson and Miller. The premise is that you God has made you to do a certain kind of work. We leave a trail of evidence even from early childhood of what this work is. Some kids are taking apart toasters. Others come out dancing. We see certain interests and abilities coming out from early ages.
Mattson and Miller recommend that you time some time to examine achievements that you felt good about from each era of your life (childhood, teen years, early adulthood, etc.). Not the ones that other people told you were good, but the ones you really felt good about. Spend time writing and thinking about those experiences and look for common threads. It’s fascinating how those threads pull out.