Things I Am Good At

I took a writing workshop last week, and while looking through old scrap journals for one to take with me, I found the following list that I apparently wrote almost three years ago. It made me smile.

Things I Can Do

1. Put together a tent
2. Lead a yoga class
3. Paint a wall
4. Make popcorn from scratch
5. Find my way around a mountain on foot
6. Program a phone
7. Drive a stick
8. Get through an airport
9. Throw pottery on a wheel
10. Deduce the meaning of a word through context clues

I have no idea why I made this list. I am definitely a compulsive list maker, so it’s not that unusual.

I really liked this particular list, though. I have a hunch about why I wrote it. I remember going through a prolonged phase of feeling like there were just so many things in the world I was bad at, didn’t like to do, didn’t understand, or frankly couldn’t stand. Things that other people love, and things that make you cool.

Among them: snowboarding, playing poker, playing charades, playing bocce ball, playing games at all, parties, bars, clubs, raves, Burning Man, Bay-to-Breakers, Halloween, costume parties ever, New Year’s Eve, talking on the phone, talking to people in general, watching reality TV, watching sports on TV, caring about sports in any way, loving the Red Sox, keeping my opinion to myself, staying calm, riding in airplanes, sharing, eating mushrooms, eating chicken, eating eggplant, eating Chinese food, Indian food, Vietnamese food, drinking beer, going to New York City…

The list really does go on. (See, another list.)

But… there are things I can do. Things I like to do. And I’m pretty sure I’ve learned to do some more things since I wrote that original list. Like…

1. Cook soup without a recipe
2. Change a diaper
3. Get a cat out of a tree
4. Run a small business

One of the most lovely things about getting older is that you learn what you’re good at, and you don’t really give a rat’s ass about the rest. Because there is more to life than being cool.

Try it yourself. Make a list of things you’re good at. You might be surprised to find out how interesting—if not in fact cool—you actually are.