School For Animals

Have you ever heard the story about the school for animals? It was the newest rage in all of the forest land! They had the best programs and the best teachers. Their flying program was top notch and their swimming program had been rated #1 in the country. They recently had a change in administration and suddenly the environment around the school had changed. They no longer were winning championships in flying or swimming anymore. No longer were they having record attendance for the climbing program. The new administration made the curriculum the same for all the animals – no matter their type. Squirrel? Same schedule as a bird. Fish? No accommodations for you – that tree would still need climbing. This was unheard of among the animals but they knew it was best for them to have a well-rounded education and if that included swimming AND flying lessons then so be it. The eagle came home saddened daily. His mom would ask him what was wrong and he would report that he was trying but swimming just did not make sense to him. She called the school and they decided they would put him in extra swimming lessons to help with the deficit. He went in early and stayed late working on form but couldn’t help but find himself drowning and needing to be rescued every time. 

I hope by now you see where this story is going – and yes, it was very much adapted to fit the needs of my point here. The problem wasn’t that the eagle needed more swimming lessons. No matter how hard he tried, swimming was NEVER going to come easily to him or naturally to him. He was focused on a talent he did not possess. Eagles are not meant to swim.

Have you ever felt like that in life? You work and work and work to try to make up for some deficit that at some point has been noted to you in some capacity but nothing seems to help. You work harder and longer only to find yourself more frustrated than when you started. This is what it can feel like when we don’t live into who we were designed to be! 

But what if…

What if we could focus on what makes us strong and not what makes us wrong? What if we could spend the extra time in doing the things we love and that gives us energy? What if our jobs reflected our passions? What if our passions reflected our person? What if we stopped sleepwalking through life and woke up to actively participate in our own lives?

Have you ever felt like that bird? Let’s image an ending to this story where the bird is able to articulate their own needs and can say something like, “Bird’s aren’t meant to swim. No matter how much you try and teach me it just won’t work. I am going to focus on flying because that is where my natural talents lies and I know that is what I was designed to do.” Can you imagine how the bird may feel the first day back at school when he gets to be in all of the best flying classes and emerges as a leader of the class because he is taught to soar. 

We were meant to soar. Let’s wake up and really start living into our own design and soar!

xoxo,

Mary, Your Strengths Coach

*Based on The Animal School: A Fable by George Reavis