What's In Your Hand?

"Chopped" is one of my favorite competition shows on The Food Network. Each contestant gets a mystery basket of four ingredients to create a dish in 30 minutes or less. Professional chefs judge their food over three rounds. One by one, the contestants are chopped until only one champion remains!

I am often amazed by the culinary creations that arrive on the plates in front of the judges! The competing chefs are under immense pressure to prove they are worthy of the top prize. Some contestants walk in with many accolades and decades of experience in the cooking world. Others are just starting out. The beauty of the competition is the mystery basket -- it levels the playing field. In order to compete, each contestant has to use what's in their hand (in the basket) and make the most of it.

What's in your hand? What skill or talent do you possess? Are you making the most of it? So often, we tend to focus on what we don't have or what we can't do just yet. "If only I had x, then I would be able to get started." "If only I could do y, then I would see results." What do you do while you're waiting for x and y? What if x and y NEVER materialize? What then? When we focus so much on what's missing, we begin to neglect what we DO have. We start to undervalue what we bring to the table. Before long, we've knocked ourselves out of the competition!

Each of us has talents and gifts that are waiting to be explored. Nurture and accentuate what you CAN do! Our strengths won't remain strengths for very long if we don't exercise them. Maybe you wrote for your college newspaper back in the day. Start writing again! Or you used to fix cars with some of your friends. Skip the mechanic next time and do it yourself! Perhaps you were the go-to person for great financial advice. Start an investment club! Whatever your gift is, don't neglect it. Make the most of what has been given to you - anything less, and you are robbing yourself.

Question: What talent or gift can you resurrect and begin cultivating over the next 6 months?

INK WELL SPOKEN

"Empowering Your Purpose with the Power of Words"

#whatsinyourhand #chopped