Although I have briefly referred to some of the benefits of being a giraffe in a few of my posts now, I wanted to expand more on this idea in a single post and why since coming across this idea, I have started to feel more motivated.

Focusing on what you are not so good at can be very detrimental and I of all people know that it can be so easy to feel down about that and wish that you were someone different and personally when it comes to being the quieter person in the room and how cautious I can be.  I have thought and still think at times that I lack something that everyone else seems to have. However, I have found that when I have let go of those feelings and focused on what I am good at, I have experienced a very freeing feeling of being released from the pressure of thinking that I have to act in a certain way or being interested in certain things and my unique talents, some of which I have noticed before and some not, have become more obvious to me which has been really interesting!  

Something that was a good reminder to me of this was something that my Mum sent me a while ago. It was a quote from Louie Giglio, who is an American pastor:

“God used astonishing brilliance making you an original. Don’t spend all your energy trying to be the same.”

Although, this is something that I personally believe and others may think differently, the idea that I wanted to emphasise is that spending a lot of time and energy trying to be the person you think you should be is futile.

Furthermore, in regards to insecurities we may feel about our weaknesses, this is a song that I have discovered in the past year that I find very encouraging. It has two messages I feel, one being that you should shine your light boldly which I have talked about before, but also when you see the lightbulbs altogether, I think it demonstrates the power of using the combined strengths of the people we live and work with and this often makes a bigger impact than when we try to go it alone (maybe it’s just me that interprets it that way anyway!).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKkbIZtqhyQ.

The people that we surround ourselves with has a very big influence on us both positively and negatively and fortunately, I have felt very motivated and loved by the people around me in the last few weeks when things have been quite tough. However, there are times when you are with people that make it difficult for you to be a giraffe but I will dedicate later full posts to talk more about both of these aspects.

I hope you enjoyed this instalment and stay tuned for the next instalment where you will find out what we can learn from the Proclaimers about giraffeness! As always, if you have any thoughts/feedback, feel free to get in touch with me.

Until next time

Kathryn