Today’s post introduces Theresia Whitfield, a professional writer in Indiana.  We are thrilled to have Theresia join our blog team and today’s conversation is awesome.

 Let me just say it may be okay to be “square” depending on which square we are.  Without further ado - here’s Theresia:

Four SquaresBy: Theresia Whitfield Isn’t it great being a woman? I could pontificate on the many wonders about being a woman but I won’t bore you with what you probably already know. But I will tell you one of my favorite things about being a woman: Having other women friends.  As a professional writer who works out of her home, I find that I isolate myself, although I don’t usually discover it until I’m having a fit about my work or something else going on with my writing/communications company. Oh, sure, I get out to networking events and have meetings with friends and clients. But I am always thrilled when I can sit down at my computer to be creative. I get lost in those moments when I can bring a story to life through the creative written word.  But lately, I have found myself in a funk. Truth be told, part of my funk is that I’m going to hit the Big 4-0 in a week. But that’s for another blog entirely!  

My funk is that I’m not writing what I want to write. I started my own business so I could do it my way and be free. And yet, I’m not doing it my way nor am I free. There are more times than not where I feel I am spinning my wheels but going nowhere fast. Adding age to the equation just reminds me that I’m not where I wanted to be at this stage in life.  Now, here’s where being a woman is so great. I know several of the local writers in the Indianapolis area; some from church, some from writing or networking opportunities. One writer and friend had never met another writer and knew we were friends so she asked if the three of us could get together. I was thrilled at the chance to introduce these two wonderful artists and to get to spend some time with them.  It was an amazing time of bonding, sharing, commiserating, laughing, almost crying, and brain-storming. One of the women shared with us something she had learned from a seminar given through our church. She said that, essentially there are four squares and each of us has these four squares. It goes something like this: One square is what you’re really BAD at; for example, I’m bad at drawing. I can’t even draw stick people. So, I don’t bother spending much time drawing. Another square is what you’re ADEQUATE at. In this scenario, I am an adequate house-keeper. I’m not as good as my mom but I’m also not a slob – just adequate. The third square is what you’re GOOD at. This square takes a great deal of energy; perhaps it takes too much energy. For this analogy, it may mean that I’m good at running a business but it takes so much energy from me that I don’t have much energy left to be a creative writer in my areas of passion.  

Finally, there is the square which represents what you’re EXCELLENT at. This square doesn’t take energy, rather, it creates it. This square is the one thing that, when you’re doing it, you could keep doing it without hesitation, without tire, without shutting down, without dread or trepidation. This is how I am with my creative writing.  Can you see the light bulb going off over my head?!  That’s what’s so great about being a woman. When we commiserate with other women who face similar circumstances, we talk and we talk and we talk and eventually, someone will say something that triggers a realization God intended for us to find. Today was that moment for me.   Of course, the real issue is what do I do with this newfound information? That’s where prayer and a loving, supportive husband come into the picture.  In which square are you spending most of your time? Do you need to switch squares?