Why Not A Summer Of Strength?

Every summer families everywhere make their plans for some strategically placed fun.  Whether a vacation, family reunion, trip to the lake or a backyard campout, we often make very elaborate plans to include details such as, the perfect timing, who we will invite to participate, our destination and what we would need to arrive there. 

 

I’ve heard it said before that we spend more time planning an annual vacation than we do our future….hmmmm and that future includes how we can fully develop our strengths; yours, mine and our children’s.

But what if this summer it was different?

 

What if you made a plan for a Summer Of Strength?

 

What if you used this summer season strategically?

 

What is this was the summer when it all changed?

 

A Summer Of Strength is when we take one strength and create activities and plans that allow us (or our child if they’re the focus) to use that strength extensively to hone it, tone it and bring it to a higher level of performance.

 

You see for many of us there is a strength that we can in fact become truly gifted at, if we merely sharpened the strength a bit more and the best way to sharpen it?  Why using it of course!

 

Test it out, share it with others, use it or lose it.  Here are some ideas…

 

If your strength is writing, here are a few strategies that will provide you with additional opportunities to write and really hone your craft.

 

1. Honestly assess where you are in this strength, whether you use A is best, F is the worst score or 5 is best and 1 is the bottom, assess where that strength is today.
2. Write out the story of why you like writing.  What feels so satisfying about it, is it the writing or the comments from others about your writing? Is it the crisp white paper (errrrr I mean screen!)? 
3. Write a letter of thanks to the people in your past who encouraged you
4. Begin blogging
5. Read blogs on subjects of interest to you and make comments
6. Offer to guest blog for someone else’s blog
7. Write stories and submit them to on line and traditional print publications
8. Offer to write content for your church or community website
9. Begin writing that book you’ve had in you for all those years
10. Reassess your strength, how does it compare to where you were in the beginning of the summer?

What would happen if each of us intentionally did that each year? 

 

What about each season?

 

Would our lives be different?

 

What about the lives of those around us?

 

Hmmmm…..time to start planning.

 

Wishing you a Summer Of Strength!

 

Deb 

 

Comments

[Don Griffey]

Speaking of writing books that are in you...

Last week I rewrote the first chapter of mine. Yesterday (Sunday) I wrote the 5th chapter and the introduction to the 4th. (The reason for the order is that chapter 5 is transitional and I am still researching the main part of chapter 4.I will have to go back to chapters two and three and tweak them a bit to fit the current writing.

[Deb Ingino ~ Strength Leader]

Thats awesome Don! I've read your stuff, you clearly have the gift for writing and I'm so happy that you're moving back into this strength!