I AM not a music aficionado but in recent times, I have paid some attention to antique western classical music. Every time I listen to any piece of classical music, I get swept off my feet by the richness of the lyrics, the purity of the voice and the soothing melodious sounds that carry the lyrics. Whether it is Mozart or Handel, Beethoven or Bach, I tell myself “These people are gifted.” The moment I say that, another voice in me retorts, “But who is not gifted?”
Oh yes! There is no human being on earth who is not gifted. Each one of us has a gift we can use. When we learn to use our gift, we will be able to sign our name in the sands of history and posterity.
“There is no human being on earth who is not gifted.”
A gift is a notable capacity, talent or endowment. Many people get confused about their gifts or their abilities. While some think they are giftless, there are others who deride the gift they have. There are also others who believe they are so multi-talented that they get confused about how to deploy their gifts
Just as the classical musicians of old did and their works live on, so can we use our gifts in ways that posterity will benefit from.
5 Indicators to Discover Your Gift
Apart from having a general understanding that every person has a gift, we must become familiar with our particular gift. An undiscovered gift cannot be used. Here are five indicators that can help us to discover our unique gift or gifts in life.
- Inborn Ability:
Every person has some special intelligence that they did not learn. They were born with it. It could be the ability to organize things well, the ability to listen to people, making people laugh, singing, keeping a tidy environment, advising people, simplifying complex ideas, combining colors effectively, working with numbers, dancing, imparting knowledge to children, smiling, saying nice things about people (publicists). Everybody has one ability or the other. And the fascinating thing is that most people are multitalented.
2. Individual Personality:
Every person is uniquely wired. You have a temperament or predisposition that is unique and suitable to you. There are people who excel when they work in a team, others perform better when they work alone, some have to retreat and be by themselves from time to time in order to stay sharp. There are people who think in pictures, others think in words while some think in numbers. However you are, it is a gift.
3. Instinctive Passion:
Do you have an area of interest? What do you concentrate on mostly? What themes consistently feature in your thoughts? Whenever you wake up in the morning, what is the first thing you do? When you visit a place, what do you notice first? How you answer this question is an indication of your passion. Your passion is an indication of something you have the flair for and thus, can excel at if you channel your energy towards that area.
4. Imbibed Skill:
Imbibed skills are capabilities acquired through experience or training. We all go through things in life. Many of these things can never be taken away from us. Such things give us certain understanding and capabilities that we would never have had. The memories and effects of your experiences are God’s gift to you.
Further, imbibed skill also refers to special skills or knowledge you acquire from any formal institution of learning.
5. Imparted Capability:
Not everything in life is given to us naturally or by experience. Irrespective of our natural abilities, passion, skills or experiences, there are some things that we’ll need, which only God gives. They complement everything you have naturally and socially. God gives them to us because of His love for us. He also gives those gifts to us to complement our strengths and cover up the weaknesses inherent in the competencies we have naturally and socially.
Don’t go through life thinking that every capability you have is by nature or by your effort. Some things are from God only and ultimately, everything is from God.
Finding and using your gift is your passport to making a significant contribution to your society. Don’t deny the world of your gift. The world is waiting for you to unleash what you have. Give it to us.
