Tuesday 24 February 2015

10 Things I'm Already Good At


Why is it so difficult to recognise the things we're good at? Ask me to name 10 things my friends or family excel at and I could do it in the blink of an eye; conversely, ask me to name 10 things I'm bad at and I could do that too. But try to come up with something I'm good at, with no caveats? Yep, that's pretty difficult.

That's why I loved Louisa's recent post, 10 Things I'm Already Good At (itself inspired by a prompt from Sarah to concentrate on the stuff you can already do rather than the niggling things you want to be better at). As well as liking the idea of focusing on the good rather than the bad, I also think there's something pretty subversive about someone - especially a woman, especially a British woman - standing up and saying, "Hey, look at the stuff I'm great at!" rather than our usual self-deprecating nonsense.

1. Reading
It will come as no surprise to anyone who's a regular visitor to this blog that I'm really, really good at reading. Good at reading quickly. Good at reading a range of books. Good at reading in any given situation, regardless of what's going on around me. Reading is the one thing I can - and do - do very, very well.

2. Finding my way around cities
I have an excellent sense of direction in towns and cities and can navigate my way around a place easily after only an hour or so. Even if I don't return to the same place for a decade, as soon as I'm back I can remember how to get from A to B. Sadly, this sense of direction does not extend to the countryside: put me on a mountain or in a field, and I'm lost.

3. Doing the scary stuff
Take one diagnosis of anxiety, add in a pinch of shyness and a dose of chronic scaredy-cat-ness, and you have the recipe for a person who sits at home and does very little with her life. Or at least, you would if I wasn't better at facing my fears and putting myself out there. A fear of heights hasn't stopped me climbing mountains and trying my hand at abseiling and caving (ugly crying all the while, but hey - I did it). Severe travel anxiety and crippling shyness didn't prevent me from backpacking alone around South Africa, and America, then South Africa again, nor from going on numerous solo city breaks in the UK and Europe. From driving, to meeting new people, there's a ton of stuff that I find scary, so I'm pretty damn proud of myself for getting out there and doing them anyway.

4. Planning things
Whether it be trips, events or just a weekend of pottering, I am super super good at planning. If you've ever seen the bit in The Darjeeling Limited when Owen Wilson's character gives his brothers their laminated itineraries and demands their passports for safe keeping: that's me. Luckily, The Boy is really chilled out when we travel and happy to leave the planning to me, because I'd find it extremely difficult to compromise (although prior to our weekend in York, he did say to me, "I haven't looked up anything, are you cool with having done all the planning?" It's like he doesn't know me at all).

5. Teaching
I really wasn't sure whether to include this. I have days when I'm knackered and stressed and have a pile of overdue marking and the kids end up making another poster, but what teacher doesn't? I'm only just - after ten years! - starting to have the confidence to recognise that it's the days when I'm an excellent teacher that matter. The days where I'm on top of my game and I can see the learning happening in front of me; days when kids are filled with enthusiasm because I'm filled with enthusiasm; days when pupils tell me how much they enjoyed activity x, or how much they feel they're improving. On those days I think, "Yeah, I'm ok at this."

6. Putting together flatpack furniture
Honestly, I don't see why there's all this all fuss about assembling Ikea furniture: it's easy! I think the way their instructions are presented must really match my learning style, because I genuinely enjoy putting flatpack stuff together.

7. Making connections with people
By which I mean that, considering I'm extremely shy (see #3), I'm surprisingly good at making new friends. Even before blogging and Twitter made it easy to connect with people, I was always the person who'd manage to make new friends wherever I worked, or to find like-minded penpals in the days when fanzines, mine included, still advertised in the back of the NME. Now keeping friends... that's something I occasionally struggle with, but that's another story.

8. Interior design
Which is a wanky way of saying that I'm good at putting a room together. From the original vision to actually getting my hands dirty with decorating, I've made every place I've lived into a cosy, practical and beautiful home. Someone paid me the ultimate compliment recently, saying that my newly-styled bedroom shelf looked like something out of a magazine.

9. Choosing gifts for people
There are one or two cases where this isn't true - friends for whom my usual skill just abandons me - but by and large, I'm an excellent gift-giver. My trick? Buying something as soon as I see it, even if that's a year in advance, then storing it so that when someone's birthday rolls around, I don't have to panic-buy. I also really like using Etsy and local independent stores to find truly unique gifts.

10. Making things
I'm not amazingly talented in one specific craft; my sewing is ok, but nothing compared with a lot of people, and I can't knit nor crochet. But I'm good at having ideas, at seeing something and working out how to make my own version of it, and I enjoy trying out new things, be it screenprinting, lino-cutting, embroidery or papercrafts.

I'd love to hear what you're already good at: what are your ten things?

27 comments:

  1. I love number three!

    Also, putting together flatpack furniture? I don't see what the big deal is, either.

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    1. Number 3's the one I'm most proud of, because it's the most difficult one I guess.

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  2. I really enjoyed reading this - it is important to stand up and say yes, I am good at things! Here is a list! See! I can do things! We can all acknowledge areas of weakness, but we need to acknowledge all the good stuff too!

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    1. Exactly - it's not coincidence that, if I'd tried to name 10 things I was bad at I could have done it in seconds flat, but it's taken me weeks to finish this list!

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  3. Good list! I don't get the fuss about flat pack either - just read the instructions! I don't know if being a crafter makes it easier for us in that we can see how things go together naturally but still, the dummy guides that go with some of those furniture packs are hilarious. As for planning...Please just plan all my stuff for me and write me an itinerary? Tam gets mad at me when I don't want to help plan things - I want to do the things, my brain just can't deal with the tediousness of arranging all the details! I have a very low boredom threshold...

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    1. I know, right? I think people who think flatpack is difficult just aren't doing it properly. Haha, I would LOVE to have a job that involved planning stuff for people - I reckon I'd make a pretty amazing party/wedding planner.

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  4. I love this list. I find it really difficult sometimes to think about what I am good at and what I can offer, rather than what I feel I'm lacking or what I would like to improve on. I might spend some time having a think now!

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    1. Do! I found it really helpful to direct my thinking away from my natural, "Oh I'm crap at everything" place to somewhere more positive.

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  5. Oh I love an afternoon sticking together some flat back furniture, it's fun! I guess for me it would be cross stitching, crocheting, running and ebay store and knowing how to enjoy my own company (woes of being an only child!).

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    1. Knowing how to enjoy my own company is a big one of mine too - woes of being the bookish only sister in a family of sporty boys!

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  6. Oh goodness, I would def struggle with this! I would like to use your natural talents for No's 2,6,8,9 & 10 please (things I'm pretty bad at!!) x

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  7. Great list Janet. Ah to be good at planning, I wish! I can defo vouch for 1 & 8 - you posted pics of your living room once and it looked so lovely! I rather like the methodical-ness of flat pack furniture, never had any problems. Will have a think about what I'm good at (apart from being self deprecating as I guess that doesn't count)... :)

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    1. Haha, I was v tempted to put "being self-deprecating" or "being rubbish" as #10 when I was running out of ideas!

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  8. Very good list! You have some great skills and attributes! I too, am very good at reading, when or where! I count myself as lucky because I know many who find it hard. xx

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    1. When I was a kid, my family were in awe of my ability to literally read anywhere - almost every photograph of me, I have a book in my hand! In the back of the car on long journeys, on the climbing frame, on a picnic.... always a book.

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  9. I totally can't do flat pack. mainly because I'm too impatient to read the damn instructions. And then I wonder how it went wrong...

    I'm impressed by 2 - I'm the opposite, I've been lost in so many places. And 3 is awesome, you've done a ton of scary shit :)

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    1. I have a tendency to 'skim' the instructions rather than read them fully, which has led to a few mishaps.

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  10. You're absolutely awesome for number three, such an inspiration! I so wish I was good at finding my way around places but it's probably one of my worst features. I can never remember where I am even if I've been there five times before. Sometimes I even have to make a mental note of how I got to a toilet just in case I can't find my way back to where I'm supposed to be haha. Well done for being good at so many wicked things! I might have to give this post a go myself if you don't mind :)

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    1. Please, help yourself! I'd love to read your ideas.

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  11. Great post - I was in America last week and it was so weird being surrounded by people who just didn't even bother to ask anything about me at all. I literally spent two weeks listening to them tell me how amazing they are and how good they are at stuff. Pffff... very un-English, which made me appreciate your post even more. Might have to write one myself, but can only think of two of three things I'm really good at - but it's a challenge I want to try :)

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    1. Haha, yeah it's such a stark contrast isn't it? I think the British could stand to be less self-deprecating but the Americans could also tone down the bigging-themselves-up!

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  12. I love this. I might have to steal it if that is okay. I love the idea of making this a celebration.

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    1. Steal away! It was Louisa's post first, anyway!

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  13. This list is brilliant! I'm with you 100% on the sense of direction. Which is just as well, really, as I'm hopeless at map reading! I'm also very good at planning too. My holidays are like a military operation (albeit one involving lots of stops for tea and cake) xxx

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    1. The 'holidays like a military operation' bit sounds familiar!

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  14. Excellent list (and thanks for the shout out). I agree with everyone else, number 3 is a fab one to have on your list and fair play to you for trying stuff like abseiling and caving! I love number 4 as well, there's just something so satisfying about having things all planned out :-) xx

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