When you were a child, what did you want to be? If you are struggling to answer this question, I’ll help just a little.
What if you knew that your job here on earth was to discover your gifts (and we all have one), connect them with a passion, make them your purpose and then figure out how to serve with them? Now imagine that you and your soul already knew these answers before you even reached high school!
Can you recall the ages between 9-12, when you were in 4th to 7th grade? They are incredibly informative years in our development. We are old enough to be out from underneath our parent’s wings and yet young enough that our egos haven’t quite set in. These years often hold lots of wisdom of who we are authentically and our purpose here on earth.
Now, try to remember what did you do, play, and spend countless hours getting lost doing between the ages of 9-12?
Were you out in nature? Creating adventures? Maybe playing Barbie? If so, what did you and Barbie do?
Was Barbie hopping on a plane and going off to Paris, or were you home taking care of Skipper, deciding if you wanted to be married to Ken or GI JOE?
Maybe you could be found playing ball at the local sandlot. If so, were you the organizer, the peacekeeper, the rule breaker or maker?
Did you read? What types of stories were you reading? Were they books full of adventure, history or even romance? Maybe your favorite character’s faced life adversities and showed perseverance and resiliency? Maybe they had magic powers or were superheroes?
What was your favorite movie as a kid? And why was it your favorite?
Did you love arts & crafts, painting, singing or dancing, playing school or store?
When I was a kid, I remember sitting at my dad’s home office desk. I pretended to do important paperwork and run a business using his big clunky calculator. Now I see this vision echoing in what I do today every time I sit to complete the necessary paperwork for my business.
Another vivid memory I have from my childhood is when I pretended I was teaching. I’d line up my teddy bears and dolls – I was teaching but I knew it wasn’t in a school setting. I had completely forgotten this childhood pastime until a few years ago. I was speaking on this exact subject in a workshop to an audience of well over 100 people and I stopped dead in my tracks, in the middle of a sentence as I remembered my teddy bears and dolls well over 40 years ago. It was a complete Deja Vu moment!
You see, how we chose to spend time as a child may hold a clue as to who you are and what you do today, or perhaps even what is missing.
“There are some things you cannot see with your eyes, You have to see them with your heart, and that is the hard part of it. For instance, if you find the spirit of the youngster in you, with your memories and his dream you will walk together, trying to find this adventure called life. Always trying to make the best of it. And your heart will never become tired or old.”
Sergio Bambaren, “The Dolphin: Story of a Dreamer”