(… contd, from the previous blog titled “Work is the expressions of Gifts and Talents”)
We have heard there statements more than once:
“He is a Gifted player!”
“She is a Gifted dancer!”
“I don’t know how I did it, I think I just have it in me… its just a GIFT that I have!”
When you use a GIFT in your work, work seems to get easier. You don’t feel like you are working anymore. If you are an audio engineer who is GIFTED in creating new sounds or mixing the right tracks, HOURS of sitting in an audio console or a mixer would seem like minutes for you. I have friends who cannot WAIT to get to a computer because programming gives him a HIGH, like drugs! That is what Gifting can do.
Identifying Gifts:
So how do you identify the areas in which you may be gifted (usually there are more than one)
1. Go back to your childhood (rewind your mind) and think of all things you were keen and interesting in doing. When we are 3 to 5 years old, that is when our mind is most OPEN and we do not yet know what we CANNOT do. So our subconscious mind brings out our gifting and we tend to do things that we are gifted in. Like a child dancing, playing drums, singing, painting, etc. So sit calmly and think about what Gifts you may have had as a child.
2. Look into yourself and ask this question “What am I passionate about?”. Something that you do not get bored with. When I did this exercise, I came up with a dozen things. But as time went by I realised that there were only 2 or 3 things that gave me a THRILL and SATISFACTION that I love to get again and again. One of them is training (teaching and sharing knowledge). I realised that the satisfaction that I get out of a training session (both as a participant and as a trainer) is incomparable with any other occupation for me. That is my gift. I love looking at the participants eyes, seeing their reaction to the subject and later hearing the stories of how useful the content was to them. That is real joy! And then there are a few other things. But that was just an example to get you thinking. May be yours is photography, programming, maths, cooking, snooker, whatever!! But write it down. Make a list.
3. Speak to some of your closest friends and family (who will be honest with you… not people who will say things to please you) and ask them what your GIFTING might be. People who have known you for a long time. They might throw a new light and a fresh perspective.Talking to a spouse is the best, if you have known each other for a long time and if you think your marriage is one of the best things that happened to you (like I do!), but if not, you can still ask him/her… who knows that might spark a new romance in your life!!
4. Most importantly, spend time with GOD, your creator. No one knows you better than he does. He created you. Your body was formed in a biological process, but your spirit/life came from God. He is your spiritual father. That is why a dead body is called DEAD. It has no LIFE in it. A body is different from who you are! You are the life that lives in a body. When you leave the body, it becomes just a BODY! That is why we refer to a dead body as a “it” and not a “he” or a “she”. So, spend time with your creator alone and ask him what are the Gifts that he gave you and built inside of you, when he created you.
These four steps will give you a fair idea of how to identify your gifts. In the next blog I will talk about how to connect that to your work life.
