Use What You Have

"A person who won't read, has no advantage over one who can't read." -Mark Twain

I came across this quote today and it struck me a little bit different. This quote is short and to the point it, but it made me stop and think for a minute. Because that is the impact that I want from anything that I write, I decided to form my thoughts around this quote by Mark Twain.

Think about this quote for a second... Have you ever caught yourself uttering a phrase similar to this? "I'm not much of a reader," or "I am so not a runner," or "I am not creative," I'm not crafty," I'm just not that smart." You get the idea right?

When I came across this quote today, I realized, in a different light, that these are excuses that we sometimes make for ourselves to help us out of the idea that we are not as good as someone else in certain areas of our lives. I think when we talk to ourselves like this, we are actually just coming up with reasons why we are not good enough.

So, what can you do to change this around? Well, for me I look at something that I want to do, or do more, or do better and I set a goal. It is satisfying to see the improvement in everything that I am doing as I work to become a better reader, a better runner, a better manager and a better person. Never settle for where you are, and work towards where you want to be. If we can't learn to do those things that ultimately we can do, then there is no reason why we should have taken so much time to get better at those things.

So, the challenge today, pick up that book and read for 10 minutes. Tomorrow, lace up those shoes and run for 10 minutes. The next day make something out of the empty toilet paper roll. The point here is to do something with the ability that you do have, and then work to improve.