Unique Change: You can do it!

Have you ever felt like you would like to be someone who contributes something significant to the world, someone who makes a difference. On the other hand you feel so inadequate and wonder, “who am I to do that?” or “what is there that I can contribute?” To be honest, this is how I felt writing this blog in the beginning of the week. I wanted to write something that would inspire and challenge but I felt discouraged. I felt like I didn’t have anything to write about, anything to contribute. Suddenly it hit me. I might have felt like this for a moment, but there are people out there that feel the same way, not just temporarily but ALL THE TIME. They think they have nothing to give, nothing to contribute to make a difference in the world. In the Bible God often used individuals to bring great change. They weren’t heros, those that were voted “most likely to succeed”. People like Gideon, David, Moses, Amos, Esther and Peter were normal individuals just like you and me and some were successful in things they thought they weren’t gifted in. How would life have been if they hadn’t followed God’s call on their life? After hearing these stories over and over, we should come to the conclusion, these are not just entertaining stories. God is still writing stories. However, this time, WE are the main characters. WHAT IF WE ACTUALLY BELIEVED THAT WE CAN MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD THAT NOBODY ELSE WILL BE ABLE TO GIVE in the same way we do or reach the same people we would reach. Just as each person has a unique set of fingerprints, YOU ARE UNIQUE in your gifts and talents at this time. You were born “FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS” (Esther 4:14) How would we live differently if we actually believed this with the core being of our heart? If we knew that even today we could bring some kind of change to someone’s life? Today I want to challenge you to not sit back anymore and let others live extraordinary lives. It’s time for you to be extraordinary. It’s time for you to make a difference and live out what you have read and heard about. So how can we start?

Here are some tips to get going:

Find out your talents and gifts by reflecting, asking friends or co-workers, read books about strength and talents and last but not least, ask God.
Try out new things. Finding out what you are good at and what you enjoy doing might be a process. Also it might change over time. Don’t avoid the things you think you are not talented in. What you think you’re good at and what you are actually good at might be two different pairs of shoes.
Don’t stop after the first time of trying something new, give it a few months. Mastering something takes practise, often a lot of it.
On top of finding out your talents and gifts, reflect on what you are passionate about. Consider the following question to discover what your passions might be:

What would you do if you had all the money in the world and could not fail?

Set a goal in one of those talents and passions. You gotta start with at least one thing. What could be a goal in that particular area? If you would like to write a book but you never write, that book will never be on the market. You have to start writing.
Define smaller steps how to reach that particular goal. Will you set aside a time where you just focus on writing? Decide when and where that will be and schedule that time in your calendar. Or maybe you will set aside a time where you write one page a day? Define your small steps.
Take the first step! As Nike would say, “Just do it!” And repeat the same steps with another area if neccessary.