Day 3 of 7: What do they thank me for?

I accepted this challenge with a grain of salt, thinking: Challenges are silly and cheesy. Faux inspirational. But in reality, this feels a little like school (the better parts of it). I have a schedule (that I control!), drafts to turn in, and I know someone else will be reading whatever I write. Sounds pretty handy.

Prompt 3 of the Live Your Legend writing challenge asks: What do people thank you for? Also, what do you love helping people with? What would you be happy and excited to help others with even if you didn’t get paid? These questions are to get me thinking about the things I’m best at.

Things people thank me for. The list is pretty short. Yikes.

1. Listening. Sometimes, people need to vent. And when I’m nearby, I usually let them vent to me. It’s a symbiotic relationship: they need someone to talk to, and I want to feel needed. Plus, I like when someone walks away from me feeling even a tiny bit better.
2. Inspiring them to travel. This gets me excited. I love talking about travelling, and I love telling people my travel stories. I especially love the part at the end of the conversation that goes something like this,
   Person: Wow, Eva! You’ve done so much! I wish I could travel.
   Me: Where would you go if you could?
   Person: I’ve always wanted to go to Greece. 
   Me: Greece? You can do that. Easy. 
   For me, talking about travelling is akin to taking shots of espresso. I feel so energized. Remembering all the amazing experiences I’ve had, all the possibilities my future travels will bring–all these things make my brain happy.
3. Helping proofread. I have a friend who exchanges poetry with me. We help each other proofread, brainstorm, edit, suggest, la la la. Editing with her puts me into hyperfocus. Nothing else exists, not even time. Only the work. This is what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls flow.

Now, I will demonstrate the simple magic of merging all the things you love to do into one, Super Dream Career.

Ready?

Traveling storyteller. Like Renate Stoller in Nancy Drew.

Look at that chair. That face!

That could be me.