Discover Your Thing

At 1:44 AM, sunburnt and exhausted, while sleeping outside in the middle of a park, I realized something: I have a thing. I am a storyteller. For the past two weeks, I have been in Holland, Michigan documenting the work of the students and alumni of Hope College in their pursuit of an inclusive community for LGBT people. The obvious product will be a short film and on-going project to continue documenting the work and reinterpreting the footage. By honing in on my thing, and grounding my work in that, I am able to produce projects that are valuable to others and personally fulfilling. What is your thing?

The final event here at Hope College was a 24 hour Be In . At 1:44 AM, I was just over halfway through my 24 hour work day. And that’s when I realized–or more accurately, remembered–my thing. That thing where the line between work and play blurs, where you can work until the brink of exhaustion and feel as invigorated as ever, and that you gladly do for free yet it is your craft and trade.

Lately, I have contemplated all sorts of options as I continue to work for myself. Blogging, as a source of income, has been all the rage for over a decade now. Developing a “lifestyle business” is popular in some circles. Recently, I have been working as a web designer. And of course, I co-founded a non-profit. These are all well and good and I enjoy deeply (and am good at) each of them. They tap into something deeper: gathering and sharing stories.

What is your thing? What do you daydream about? What do your friends and family seek you out for? What excites and inspires you? Once you answer those questions, do you quit your job a start a My Thing, Inc. business? Maybe. But maybe you don’t need be that extreme. In what ways can you unlock your thing today–in your current circumstances? Think of ways to incorporate your thing into your job (if you have one), into your classes (if you’re taking them), and into your personal life.

Photo by noahg