Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Monday Listicles: 10 Things I'm Good At


Joining in today with the wonderful, amazing & thoroughly inspiring Stasha at North West Mommy. She is one of my all-time favourite photographers, bloggers, Instagrammers & Tweeters.

10 Things I'm Good At

1. I'm good at loving others - I have been told by many that I have a huge capacity to love... I am also a true believer in "tough love". I have raised 4 children of my own (on my own) and I have a prodigal son who (due to his own pain) continues to wound my heart and the hearts of my other 3 children BUT, the more he wounds us, the more I love him. Also, 2 1/2 years ago I took on the enormous task of being the "other mother" to 5 girls (my husband's daughters, who he also raised alone). I became the person to whom they transferred their huge issues with their own mother... I was initially loved by most, I was expected to be "the mother they never had", I was hated, yelled at, sworn at.... BUT I love them all nonetheless.

2. I'm good with numbers - birth dates, phone numbers, account numbers, membership numbers, etc. I have the ability to recall numbers. I also took Maths as one of my majors during my teaching degree, so I'm really good with numbers mathematically too.

3. I'm good at remembering details - I can recall conversations almost word for word and where each person was sitting/standing at the time, and  more...
If I read a letter I can remember the page layout and even the words. I have aclear picture in my head (kind of  a photographic memory thing).

4. I'm good at finding something good in every situation, something to be grateful for - When my children's father left us, I was determined that they grow up remembering the good times when he was in their life (hard to do as a victim of abuse). I never wanted to focus on the pain; we acknowledged it, dealt with it, but I wanted them to remember the happy times. This is a skill I have again given particularly an enormous amount of time to more recently - feel free to read my Gratitude Journal & my post on having an "Attitude of Gratitude".
(some days I slip, but it doesn't take long to pull myself out of it)

5. I'm good at encouraging others - I guess it's something I have always been good at. I did have excellent role models in my own parents. I suffered low self esteem for a large part of my life (I probably still do to an extent, as this list was difficult to complete). I see the importance of building others up, encouraging them to set achievable goals and to be the absolute best they can be.

6. I'm good at reading - I love reading books, articles, blogs, whatever. It's not unusual for me to have numerous books on the go. Currently I am in the middle of 10 books; 2 novels and 8 other books. A girl needs variety in her life, right?

7. I'm good at photography - I'm not excellent or exceptional but I seem to be able to take a number of decent photos each time I go out shooting... and enough people have commented on my photography over the last few months so I have to concede that I am good at it.

8. I'm good at driving - I've always been a safe driver with excellent anticipation, judgement and awareness. I can't drive much at the moment, due to the residual effects of injuries to the right side of my body from a car accident in Nov 2009, but I still possess those qualities when I can do short weekly drives.

9. I'm good with computers - I am the resident family go-to girl for computer issues,  technical issues and software issues. Yep, even my extremely techno savvy son still comes to me sometimes!

10. I'm good at being organised - and passing on that skill to others.

I have to leave you with a couple of images of some "happy places" of mine. No post of mine is complete without a photo.



7 comments:

Stasha said...

Love this list Liz. I am so happy to see you celebrating the good, it truly is one of your strengths! You are very inspiring and happy person and it shows in your images too!! Your journal and attitude of gratitude are a wonderful place for me to fill up on hope and love.
Thank you, what a way to start my day!!

Gina Kleinworth said...

Love the list & you are definitely great at photography! That first one is stunning!

TexWisGirl said...

i know you had to dig into yourself to put this into words. i would have a hard time doing it. i love the road leading to the water. just wanna jump in...

Michael S-B said...

Well written, Liz. You do have a great capacity to love and encourage, and I agree most wholeheartedly with your list. Except the photography: you're not a good photographer ... you're a great photographer. Xoxo

Stasha said...

And just like that Michael left the most perfect comment in the history of mankind!

Susan said...

Wonderful post. I too have a child that is good at making the rest of us as miserable as her. I feel so bad for her and her unhappiness.

Graham Edwards said...

Phew! I do not have low self-esteem (a product of my upbringing, my environment or just me? Who knows?) but after reading that list I think I perhaps ought to re-consider my view of myself! Your list is impressive Liz.

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