How many colours does it take to draw a rainbow?
A short story of harnessing your strengths and weaknesses into success
I was kicked out of the consult room today.
The paediatrician needed to speak to mum alone.
I had been reduced from medical student to babysitter. I took Blake and sat us down in the waiting room with a tray of pencils and paper.
Grabbing the red pencil he enthusiastically started drawing his house. I hesitated, staring at my white page. His young mind wasn’t old enough to be paralysed by the fear of failure like mine.
‘Now I want to draw the house rainbow!’
I looked inside the tray.
‘Sorry matey, we don’t have all the colours.’
He shook his head.
‘I only need red yellow and blue. Watch this!’ scribbling furiously, I watched as the three colours mixed on the page, and low and behold, the house turned rainbow.
How many colours does it take to draw a rainbow?
In life we lament our weaknesses. We hate to admit that in life,
There are simply some things that we are just not good at.
We look at the rainbow of other peoples’ lives, and say to ourselves ‘I can’t do all of those things, I don’t have all of those skills. The dark greens, the soft oranges: they are missing from my pencil case.’
Each of us have strengths too. These are our primary colours. But instead of playing to our strengths, scribbling everything we have to offer onto our page, we hesitate. The drawing never starts.
When I took a gap year last year one of my goals was to pursue creative outlets. I bought a notebook and drew, I met a painter and painted a mural on a hostel. These were intensely enjoyable, but I know that innately, these aren’t my creative strengths. My creative strengths are my unique thoughts, life experiences and ability to tie that into compelling stories - but writing a book seemed too scary.
I spent a year grasping for those dark green and purple pencils. Instead, if I played to the things closest to my chest, my primary colours, a rainbow would have emerged. It would have been more me than those obscure colours.
I’m doing that now, right here. The rainbow is taking shape, and it feels great.
Here’s what I learned:
Stop trying in vain to fix your weaknesses. Harness the power of your strengths and let them flourish.
Those are the things the world wants. Pick up your primary colours and draw. That will create a rainbow on its own.
Children keep giving me the best life lessons.
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