Have You Found Your ‘It’? You Do Have One… Here’s How to Make It Your Own

Everyone has that special ‘it’ or thing that’s uniquely important to who you are... your sui generis.

We all have at least one… that thing you especially like to do. And you’re good at it too.

It’s something that fills you up and gets you back to your center.

So, are you with me? I did like the sound of sui generis, but let’s go with calling it your ‘it’.

Additionally, your ‘it’ could even be your thing… that interest, skill, vocation, hobby, sport, side-gig, or whatever it may be. I wrote a post about why you should have a thing a couple of years ago. It’s a big part of your identity. These two frequently tie together.

Your ‘it’ should come naturally for you.

Although, it still can take years and a boatload of work to nurture and develop it to its potential… but that’s the fun part.

Have you ever noticed someone who’s got that special gift, someone who gets all the breaks, seemingly without working for any of them? That apparent alchemist only appears that way because you’re looking through your lens.

Don’t let this distract you…. we don’t get to see all that happened before the ‘natural whatever’ was revealed to our eyes.

Keep in mind, your lens doesn’t view the tenacity, dedication, and relentless bum-busting involved in becoming the ‘natural whatever.’ Your perspective lacks a time reference. You’re only seeing the result. You’re only seeing what you’ve convinced yourself to see.

Yes, the part that makes you shake your head in envy.

Be careful, as this can be dangerous territory. Many of us get tripped up while our inner two-year-old takes over. This child wants another person’s ‘it’ instead of connecting with their own.

Singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow got it right…

It’s not having what you want. It’s wanting what you’ve got”

—Sheryl Crow

I had a coworker once who convinced herself she didn’t even have an ‘it’. What she had stuck in her head was an ‘it’ that she admires in others. But it wasn’t her ‘it’.

Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.”

—Malcolm Forbes, publisher and entrepreneur

What makes us blind to our own gifts? What spooks us away?

First, be careful of the definition you adopt.

Sometimes we set the bar too high. That way we can safely say we don’t have an ‘it’ and avoid taking a chance and finding out for ourselves. 

We’ll adopt the faulty assumption that we must be instantly awesome, or we simply don’t have it and should stop pretending. Even stopping altogether.

Sure, somebody gets to live at the far end of the curve. Those special few, those miracles of wonder.

We would be wise not to measure ourselves by that standard.

Let’s look from another perspective…

Have you been to an art museum where one of the masters is on exhibit? Master like Van Gogh, Monet, or Picasso. One of the BIG exhibits including their early work, some developmental work, even failed experiments. You know, the bad work. And of course, all the good stuff!

True art people thrive on exhibits like these. They love to study the progression. Some will even see parallels to their own journey.

Those parts represent the learning, the experimenting, the self-discovery. And many times, their outright failures. YES! The masters failed many times before coming into their brilliance.

There’s real magic to discover through your ‘it’

Yes, we all have an ‘it’… have you found yours? Have you taken it for a spin? Given it a chance?

And you know what? If it doesn’t work out…. and it might not, you can try something else. Because what you tried… what you put some heart and sweat and soul into may not be your ‘it’ after all.

Finding your ‘it’ is a journey. That’s part of the deal.

Take your shot. Far too many people on this planet won’t have the chance that we have. Circumstances so far beyond their control prevent ‘it’ from happening for them.

Honor them by going for yours.

Because you can. 

Be untucked.

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Copyright © 2019 Jeff Meister