Journal Day The First

This post is in response to the weekly journal prompts at Sometimes Sweet. The prompts are given on Sunday and then rounded up on Thursday. Hop over and check it out if you’re so inclined.

This week’s prompt:

Quite simply, what are you good at? All of us have particular strengths- what are yours? This week, talk about these talents, big or small. Ideas: discuss how you use these things in your daily life or job, how you discovered a knack for this or that, perhaps even touch on whether or not you are passionate about the things you're good at.

I’ve been following these Journal Days for a while now, meaning to jump in and start writing because I think it’s such a GREAT idea. I had already mentally committed myself to it before I saw the prompt. I almost decided to back out and start next week because this feels so challenging. Is it my social conditioning as a girl/woman that makes it so hard to feel like it’s ok to publically proclaim that there are aspects of myself that I am not actively seeking to improve? Or is it just my own head?

 Deep breath. Here is goes.

I am an organized and inspired person. I am good at working under pressure.

In fact, I think I’m so good at working under pressure that I am constantly creating it for myself.

I like to keep lists, lists of everything. I even have lists and notes and thoughts for future projects scribbled down in various volumes.

I keep a multi-level to-do list board in my kitchen:

There is no lack of good ideas in my life, more so a lack of time to accomplish them in. Keeping so many lists and staying organized does help me to juggle my commitments and responsibilities. The sheer volume of organized little notes and ideas in my life suggests at least some kind of passion for these strengths, but it's more accurate to say that I organize my passions. My life would be much less complicated if I wasn't passionate about so many things (mothering, growing food, crafting, nutrition, writing, birth work, dorking out with good books...

I’m a good listener, a skill I learned from my mom. Admittedly, when we are together I can still tell she’s a better listener than me because I usually can’t stop talking. In life this helps me to understand where people are coming from and find common ground. Admittedly, it can also be easy to get lost in it too. Am I passionate about it? I do agree with the saying that you have two ears and one mouth so you can listen twice as much as you talk.

I’m good at critical thinking and analysis. I think that doesn’t always show up on this blog since I try to keep it positive and avoid controversy. I’ll admit that I dread the (inevitable) day when someone disagrees with me and says so. Having been a weirdo (to varying degrees) my whole life, I tend to critically reason out (and feel out) my own decisions, but then keep them quiet assuming they will be unpopular sentiments.

(Is that my social conditioning poking in to say hello? I’m good at something, but I need to counterbalance it with a struggle?)

Breathing again.

Okay, more good things about me: I’m physically strong, I’m creative, I’m a caring and sensitive mother, I’m intelligent (who isn’t? I honestly believe we all show intelligence in different ways…)

There it is again. It’s really challenging to say nice things about myself, at least coming right out and saying them is hard. Because honestly, it seems like what us blogging types are doing with our blogs. We’re editing our lives into neat little posts that give the highlights. It’s implied, anyway, which it turns out is a lot easier on my psyche than distilling it into statements, typing them out, then hitting “publish.”

How about you? What are you good at?

Even thought I complained a lot about how hard it is to write about it, in another way it feels really good to compliment yourself out loud, and as a commenter you don’t even have to write an entire post about it, that is unless you want to. So go ahead, just an adjective or two will do.