Average

I had an epiphany this week...

If there's one thing about me that I understand very well, it is that I am a very average person in almost every aspect of my life. And I'm okay with that. This isn't a post to solicit moral boosting comments. This is also not a post to suggest that we shouldn't seek the be the best we can be.

Let me explain. I do a lot of things. I would say I'm well-rounded. However, being well-rounded takes time. The time it takes to become an expert in something usually takes about 10,000 hours.

So if I spend the next ten years practicing something for three hours a day, I can become an expert in that subject... Three hours a day. For TEN years! So that basically means that if I live to be 100 years old, and my entire life I work diligently to master skills, I might get about ten.

You can see why this would be a problem for someone who likes to do a LOT of things. If I divide my time too much, I may never become any good at anything. So in essence, I have to come to understand, that I am average. And that is okay. I'm average at a lot of things. Hopefully things that matter.

And THIS is where the epiphany comes. I have learned recently that a gift/talent has been given to me. It isn't anything flashy or exciting that can be done on a talent-show stage, but it is something that can change the lives of those with whom I come into contact. Through the talent my Heavenly Father blessed me with (and prepared a way that I could develop through thousands of hours of practice) I can bless others' lives.

So maybe I'm average in almost every way, but there is one very small way that I am an expert.

"...by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..."

Alma 37:6