Many of my friends have hidden talents. They don’t lead with their talents, in other words many are business owners or leaders so their focus is often on their day job and of course their family, however when we’re together, or they release a glimpse of themselves online, I see their hidden talents.

One such friend, Huguette, loves to paint. I’ve always known Huguette as an industry leader and witnessed her creativity in program development but never knew she was an artist with a brush. She’s very good and I can tell she just loves to paint.

Hhguette’s most recent work was an abstract watercolour (my favourite) of colourful flowers. I responded to her post that it looked like Mardi Gras. I’m not sure where that came from but she accepted the compliment in her response.

I elaborated that Mardi Gras was the theme of the colours as well as the ways in which the flowers appeared to be dancing, but not haphazardly; they were coordinated in their effort, like they had history or roots, and each was expressive inside that unison.

I was determined to make sense of the Mardi Gras comment both for me and her and allowed the words to flow to describe the energy I was receiving from the painting. It’s not easy, though, because we feel first. Our body receives signals – often in layered ways – then it takes our minds time to formulate the words. That is why body language experts are so good at reading the truth, because our body reacts first and without thought.

So, if your body is a perfect lie detector, do we listen when it tells us we are on track or not? Can we tune into feeling good as a habit?

Aha! – Use words of joy

My friend, Sandrine is a pilot with a flight school, a partner in an organizational business, a singer, and who surprised me with her piano-playing skills when she visited, also offers sage advice. One such nugget last year was this: do what brings you joy.

That sounded so simple - perhaps to you, too – so I argued with my to-do list in hand, using words like, “struggle”, “frustrating”, “overwhelming”, and dismissing “joy” amongst what felt like a struggle. It was clear I was more focused on being responsible to others than myself.

Sandrine and I are accountability partners of sorts when it comes to mirroring back words that make up the story we tell ourselves. She reminded me, like I often do with her, that the Universe – and our body – is hearing the words we use to create vibes, circumstances and outcomes.

So I asked myself, “Why not live in-joyment as a way of life? What would that take?” I peeled off some self-sabotaging layers, worked on the reprogramming, rewrote the words and am full steam ahead to live more fully in my element.

It feels good.

How many times have you rewritten your story? Does it start with the words you are using? Let’s explore that together on A Human Approach Youtube Channel.