Last week we talked with Life Coach and author Laurie Wallin about her new book, Why Your Weirdness is Wonderful. If you missed her interview, you can read it HERE.

(Winner of last week’s giveaway is announced at the bottom of this post. Also, enter TODAY – Friday for a chance to win another book!)

 

On the outside it probably looks like I’m pretty normal, whatever that is. But over my forty-one years I’ve certainly dealt with some insecurities about my own quirks/weirdness/the way I’m “wired” and have gone to great links to try and “fit in” or be like someone else. I agree with Laurie when she says we can spend “a lot of precious energy neglecting our own unique design in favor of trying to behave like someone else we believe is making a bigger difference.”

I’m good at list-making and brain-storming so here’s where I think some of my  “weirdness” and feelings of not quite fitting in stem from:

• I’m a writer. Not everyone will get this and that’s precisely why it’s on the list. I have always loved to write but it’s at times been frustrating not being able to communicate my thought processes and be understood by those around me who aren’t writers (or who don’t love words or share passion for creating sentences or get giddy over time with their thesaurus or have a stack notebooks and pens beside their bed or subscribe to the dictionary.com Word of the Day).
• I’m a dreamer with creativity and imagination. This means I can wake up on any given day with inspiration to paint or sew or spread glitter over hand made cards or cut word art from magazines and make a collage. My husband doesn’t understand all of this and he certainly doesn’t understand the clutter and boxes of craft supplies that come with it. I see beauty and potential in most everything but cutting pockets out of old blue jeans for future projects or saving all my glass candle jars for Snowman Soup gifts may seem odd to others.
• I have a sanguine personality. With this comes its own varied list of “good” and “bad” quirks. Aside from being the social butterfly I also need my alone time to dream and get refreshed and make bulleted lists of future projects that may or may not ever get finished.
• I have a tendency to do too much, commit too much, raise my hand too soon, volunteer too quickly. This is something God has been working on in me for many years now and I have actually made progress (yay!).
• I am an excited, passionate starter but not so great finisher (without great effort and focus). I get bored and distracted very easily.
• I’m an optimist and seer of good in almost everything and everyone. And I use smiley faces and exclamation marks way too much!! This is something that surely gets on other people’s nerves or makes me look weird (crazy) and can stand to be toned down a notch. But it also shows my passion and love of making people smile.

(I could go on and on but I’ll stop there.)

Each of these things have “good” and “bad” about them or, as Laurie says in her book, “a life side” and “a dark side.” She encourages us to ask God:

• For what purpose did you make me this way?
• How do you reveal these attributes – these tendencies that seem weak in me – in a holy-grace-filled way?

In Why Your Weirdness is Wonderful Laurie reaffirms to us God’s plan in purposely designing and creating every little detail about our individuality. She says:

• “Everything about you has something to do with your purpose.”
• “God doesn’t waste anything in us or our lives. Not one thing.”
• “The unique tendencies in you and me are meant to shine in a hue all their own, and in so doing, bring a little more clarity to the full-color beauty of the God we reveal to the world.” (<<——Don’t you LOVE that?)

So many times we ask God to change us. Make us good at this or better at that or more like her or help us to stop being so whatever. But . . .

• “What might be possible in your family, community – maybe even the world – because of those tendencies? What could God do with your intense focus, your need for order, your ability to talk for hours, your way of finding the bright side when nobody else thinks there is one? How might people’s lives change for the better in the presence of your stubborn insistence on excellence, your bigger-than-life dreams, or your empathy for people whom others may try to ignore? When we not only see the value of our quirks but also open our hearts to dream a little about why they matter in the world, the gift God’s given becomes tangible and truly magnificent.”

Laurie also puts on her Life Coach hat and gives us keys on how to discover our strengths, both visible and hidden.  She encourages us to find value in our strengths and quirks – even the ones we don’t like.

• “By intentionally investing in more of what you naturally do well, you invite more enthusiasm, efficiency, and energy into your life.”
• “Confidence is knowing what you’re here for, what you’re good at, and what God wants to do with the whole package. It’s recognizing and talking care of that aspect of your life.”

Did you get that? The whole package. Every part of me. Every part of you.

“For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13).

“. . .before I created you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart” (Jeremiah 1:4-5).

Thank you, Laurie, for investing in ME by sharing your words and gifts. I’m walking away excited to discover how God wants to use every part of me for His purposes!

You can visit Laurie and check out more about the book at http://bit.ly/WeirdWonderful, or stop by her facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/LivingPowerLifeCoaching.

If you can’t wait to get your hands on your own copy of Why Your Weirdness is Wonderful you can find it on AMAZON.

ANNOUNCEMENT!! The winner of last week’s GIVEAWAY is Tracy! Congratulations! Email me your address, please ma’am!

Guess what?? We have another GIVEAWAY! Laurie has so generously offered to gift another autographed book to one of YOU! Leave a comment to enter. You can also get an extra entry for sharing this post via Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media site. Just leave an extra comment letting me know you did and paste the link so we can all see! Giveaway ends Friday, April 4th at midnight.

**Disclosure – I was given a free advance digital copy of Why Your Weirdness is Wonderful as part of Laurie’s Launch Team. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”