What Are My Natural Abilities?

Look over the following list and write the number on a piece of paper for each on those abilities that you feel best match your own.

1. Musical/Dramatic ability:  to sing or play an instrument or act with competence
2. Recruiting ability:  to enlist and motivate people to get involved
3. Interviewing ability:  to discover what others are really like
4. Clerical ability:  to handle general office work with enthusiasm
5. Researching ability:  to read, gather information, collect data
6. Teaching ability: to explain, train, equip and demonstrate effectively
7. Artistic ability:  to conceptualize, picture, draw, paint, or photograph
8. Graphics ability:  to lay out, design, create visual displays or banners
9. Evaluating ability:  to analyze data and draw accurate conclusions
10. Planning ability:  to strategize, design and organize programs and events
11. Managing ability:  to supervise people to accomplish a task or event
12. Counseling ability:  to listen, encourage and guide with sensitivity
13. Writing ability:  to write articles, letters, books
14. Editing ability:  to proofread or rewrite
15. Promoting ability:  to advertise or promote events and activities
16. Repairing ability:  to fix, store, maintain
17. Mechanical ability:  to operate equipment, tools or machinery
18. Public Relations ability:  to relate to others and handle complaints with courtesy
19. Composing ability:  to write music or lyrics
20. Landscaping ability:  to do gardening and work with plants
21. Decorating ability:  to beautify a setting or room tastefully
22. Carpentry ability:  to build from wood, metal or other materials
23. Childcare ability:  to care for children with gentleness and joy
24. Feeding ability:  to create meals for large or small groups
25. Recall ability:  to remember or recall names and faces
26. Resourceful ability: to search out and find inexpensive resources or materials needed
27. Counting ability:  to work with numbers, data or money
28. Classifying ability:  to systematize and file books, data, records and materials so they can be easily retrieved

The items that you have identified should feel natural and enjoyable for you to do. You may feel that you have listed too many but you probably listed too few.  National studies have repeatedly shown that the average person has between 500 and 700 skills or abilities.

Write your name on a piece of paper.

Now write it again but with your opposite hand:

When you tried what was not natural for you 3 things happened:

1. You felt uncomfortable
2. It took extra time and effort
3. You still did a lousy job!

The same things happen when we try to minister in areas that are not suited to our personalities or abilities.  God has wired us in a unique way.   There is no “right” or “wrong” skills and abilities.  You are the right person and we want to match you to the right ministry.

Based on this and your own intuition, what would you say are your top three natural abilities?

Send these to your instructor:  roxy@asof.org

Subject:  Session 3-1: Natural Abilities