Please Don’t Share Your Genius

In recent years, a personal growth wave has swept our country. It’s almost a mandate to discover and share your genius with the world. The assumption is that you have something you do better than anyone else, and that you must share this in order to be happy and successful. While this belief is a step up from treating humans as cogs in corporate machinery, is it really growth? I’d like to stand in a different viewpoint and say, please don’t share your genius.

Your Genius, Your Purpose

Akin to this popular directive of self-discovery and actualization is the challenge to live your purpose. Oh, my, what pressure! What if I can’t find my purpose? Do I have only one? And if I were to find this supposed purpose, how would I live it? How could I be sure I was living my purpose?

The path of purpose can produce a land mine of self-doubt. Within the wholeness of life, a single, narrow self-definition breeds a sense of failure. How many people do you know who’ve articulated their purpose in words? If you can’t, does this mean that you’re not giving to the world? Do you not have a right to exist if you don’t know and follow your bliss? Or are you destined to struggle, always seeking and never finding?

Yikes. I prefer the viewpoint articulated in the Disney movie Soul. In the Great Before, one of the teachers quips back to the lead character, oh you humans and your purposes. In fact, by the movie’s end we learn through the character of 22 that even your spark—your passion—isn’t your purpose. Gerry says:

A spark isn’t a soul’s purpose! Oh, you mentors and your passions. Your purposes, your meanings-of-life. So basic.

So what’s beyond genius and purpose?

Being Truly and Wisely You

I believe you can live a lifetime of service by being truly and wisely you—true to your own heart, values, and gifts. Maybe you don’t need to light the world on fire, or light your hair on fire, or solve some problem that no one’s been able to solve.

Maybe you don’t need to measure yourself or others by your impact on the world, another buzzword that’s become a determining factor in the value of a human life.

I’m not saying that high-level creativity, innovation, and action aren’t necessary and wonderful. In fact, this kind of limit pushing can move humanity forward. Consider, though, how many people it takes to support one genius of this nature.

Another Disney film, Encanto, tells the story of a family whose members each possess a magical gift, except the youngest, Mirabel. Mirabel faces vulnerability and self-doubt.  Yet, her lack of superpower, her normalcy, turns out to be more than valuable in serving her community.

Could all those helpers who live quiet lives outside the limelight have just as much ‘value and impact’ as those whose achievements lead to stardom?

A co-worker of mine started knitting just for enjoyment. At the time, all the cool knitters were writing blogs and knitting socks. Beautiful, intricate socks. So, she tried knitting socks, and she wasn’t any good at it. It took her a long time to realize she was doing herself harm by trying to fit the mold. Eventually, she decided it was perfectly OK to do what she enjoyed which was knitting scarves. She loves scarves! So, why shouldn’t she knit what she loves, just for joy?

I’d like to advocate here for a different way to perceive the full scope of contribution, and a new target to aim for that isn’t about genius, purpose, or impact.

A New Paradigm

The value of an individual cannot actually be measured in human terms. We simply don’t have the perceptive ability to see the myriad of ways in which one’s presence, let alone small acts done with great love, brings blessings and benefits to all. Maybe it’s best to stop obsessing about measuring impact and, focus instead on accepting and valuing today’s gifts.

In a sense, we’re all equal. We each have a creative imagination and the free will to use this tool as we choose. Some may manifest fine books or works of art, big businesses or vast scientific discoveries. Others may tend the raising and teaching of children, or give kindness every day to strangers as well as friends. Can we appreciate one another and ourselves as we offer what we can give today?

A new target might be simply to be and do the best we can. And cultivate gratitude for each contribution we witness. Simple gratitude keeps the gifts flowing. Wouldn’t it be a relief to recognize and relish life itself, in all its many forms? We can have a generous spirit without appraising our every move.

Please Don’t Share Your Genius

So, please, don’t jump on the bandwagon to find and share your genius unless you really want to. You may not have one genius waiting to be discovered; you may shine in many ways. It’s a trap to believe we’ve failed if we haven’t built our life on one so-called purpose. A wider viewpoint is far more inclusive of all life’s gifts. And maybe, there are times when just our beingness is enough. 

Let’s make up our own recipe for prosperity and tranquility. Whatever we enjoy, we can be it, and love it. And if sharing is necessary, it just may happen naturally.

Learn more about Coaching. Photo by Andrew George on Unsplash