***You are not Stupid, So Find and Explore Your Niche***

Albert Einstein once said that everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid. That will happen not only if you make fish climb trees, but if you make them climb down and do a ten mile run.

Do you realise how many of us relate to the fish? We are constantly swimming upstream, never finding our gifts, thinking that we are stupid, and believing we are useless! You are not stupid, so find out and explore your niche. Knowing yourself is the best way for finding your niche, so your vocational choice should be based on your strengths and experiences. Choosing a niche means going into a line of work where, if people are facing challenges, they call you and pay you to solve them.

We have all heard the expression “no pain, no gain!” over and over again in our lives. At a cursory glance, it would seem that, only after experiencing pain we are able to gain whatever we seek. But does this relate to reality? And how can it be real when we have seen people accomplish so much without getting hurt?

The answer lies in time rather than appearance. Behind every achievement is an effort, because every aspiration needs perspiration. Imagine, for a moment, someone you know who has what they want. Now, you might be under the impression that they just got it, but what you do not know is how much they worked for it. Just because it is not in front of you, that does not make it any less real.

Do not quit, suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion, because “he who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”

The most influential lessons learnt throughout life involve pain and suffering. What haunts us the most is not what we did, but what we could have done! And the intensity of the pain is directly related to the sharpness of its memory. Proving this is simple enough. For instance, if you ask people what was their happiest moment in life are, they would generally respond after a little thought. But if you ask them about their worst pain, you will immediately see the colour drain from their faces.

In life, what you experience will help you more than that which you studied or heard. Some of the times are easy, but others are challenging. On some days, you will smile towards the sun and bask in its warmth, while on others you will face a cold snow in the moonlight. This nature of things is best described by King Solomon, who wrote:

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quite and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for a war and a time for a piece.” – ECCLESIASTES 3:1-8

As the sands of time slip through the hourglass, you will live on. But they say that each grain of sand that falls exerts its toll on your destiny. That, while weaving through the thread of fate, the grain paves a path for you, and it is a path full of dreams, nightmares, victories, defeats, and above all else, trials. Each trial shapes you, leaves you with a scar, and an experience that will last a lifetime. With the experiences you go through in your lifetime, you can go further to find your niche.

Finding your niche gives your life purpose. It gives meaning to your existence, so that you can do your part in the eternal play that we call living our lives.

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Tell us: What have you done to try to find your niche?