The concept of finding our niche in life is not a new one. As a child we start to think about what we want to be when we grow up. Some of us actually grow up and become what we dreamed about. This group is the lucky one. Unfortunately, too many people go through life with their activities governed not by their abilities, but by their circumstances. They take the first job offered and that becomes their career. If it turns out to be the wrong decision, it becomes an albatross hanging around their neck and weighs them down emotionally and financially. They do not decide what they want and go after it, but live “under” their circumstances.
When twenty percent of the individuals in a group provides 80% of the value or does 80% of the work, it is obvious that only a small percentage of individuals truly find their niche in life. How do we go about becoming one of those producers? There are a few points that can help us all determine what we should be doing. Whether we are talking about being part of a functional, happy family; being the top producer in our company; or being highly proficient in a sport; finding what our gifts and abilities are is the first step toward achievement.
The process of finding and utilizing our talents requires: (1) believing we have talents; (2) finding out what those talents are; and (3) selecting those talents that we enjoy using the most to use and improve upon. After that, the rest is easy. We do what we enjoy the most and have the talent for. As Mark Twain once said and I paraphrase; “A man who does what he enjoys never has to work”. So, lets take the process of finding our niche one step at a time.
We have to believe we have gifts, talents, & abilities. It has been said by some psychologists that each of us has thousands of abilities. Admittedly, some of these abilities may be small ones and may seem insignificant to a lot of people, but they are talents and abilities nevertheless. Some abilities are obvious to us. Some are only obvious to others. We can make use of our abilities the best when we are aware of what they are. Unless we realize that we have abilities that can be significant in life, our successes and failures for the most part will be accidental occurrences.
What are we good at doing? Sometimes we are blinded to our own abilities. Most of us do not give ourselves proper credit. We cannot see the value of our abilities in the same way an outsider does. Making a list of what we think are our abilities is a good start. A better way is to ask those who know us the best what they think we are good at. We may be surprised at the answers. Add both lists together. Once we have the combined list, the next step is easy.
We do what we enjoy. It we like to travel and write, we become a travel writer. If we are highly proficient in a sport, we may become a professional at it or become a teacher of others who are interested in the sport. If we like nothing better than making a presentation before a large crowd, we may become a professional speaker or trainer. The key is doing what we like within the parameters of our individual talents. There is nothing worse than spending our lives doing activities that we hate.
If we really want to find our niche in life, we can’t depend on other to decide what our niche is. We must actively search out our talents and abilities, decide which ones we enjoy the most, and build our family life, our careers, and our recreation around those abilities. When we find our true niche, we become a better person, and one that others want to be around.
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