What’s that saying about hidden benefits? I wish I could summon the perfect quote at the perfect moment, adding some wisdom and depth in a quick slice of a moment. Sadly, I am not a quote ninja.
So, we might as well get right to the point. There are a lot of hidden benefits in the midst of our everyday work. We’re learning all kinds of skills – some intentional, some not. The ones that just happen, with no intention, I like to think of as hidden benefits.
We did not set out to be amateur stylists, set designers, videographers or photographers for that matter. The skills just seem to accumulate over time (cumulative – in my opinion is an undervalued concept – but that’s a topic for another day).
For example, the other week my daughters preschool teacher asked me to shoot some video of her interacting with her preschoolers. I was happy to help out. And, I suddenly felt as though I had all the time in the world. The idea of taking all the time you need to get the right shot (or sequence of shots) was very familiar to me. We have passed many hours taking photos and video – but more accurately – redoing!
We are very comfortable with the do-over. I was ready to shoot, redo, shoot, redo, shoot redo. It ended up that we only did two sessions of video, but I learned I have gained something over the years – a real patience for creating videos and photo documentation. Since, patience in general is not my strong suit – I recognized it immediately as it was happening! And, that got me thinking of the skills one can develop over time unbeknownst to oneself. What a gift! What hidden benefits do your endeavors have?