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True Happiness is...

July 11, 2017
Embrace Your Talents
...the full use of one's power and talents."   -John W. Gardner 
 
I've been taking banjo lessons for about 12 years.  I'm in a bluegrass band and have been performing for the past 7 years.  And yet.....I still don't consider myself a very good banjo player.  In my head I'm an advanced beginner at best.  I was recently at a banjo lesson and my teacher was helping me with an issue I'm currently having and  said to me, "You're a banjo player."  Immediately I started to qualify that idea with things like "Well, yes, but......"  There were at least two examples of how I'm not really a good musician but manage to get by.  And no matter how many people tell me they enjoy my playing, I ALWAYS find a way to minimize my talent.  Maybe it's because I don't have a lot of natural talent for music.  I learned to play with LOTS of practice.  I had to put the time in to figure it out.  In my mind, somehow that makes what I can do less than what a "naturally talented" musician can do.  It got me wondering how often each of us minimizes our talents and abilities; how often we have to qualify a compliment with "Well, yes, but.....?" If this is something you find yourself struggling with, here's an article to help you embrace your natural and/or hard-won talents

Here is the question: 
 
How would your life change if you embraced your talents and abilities?