You Have a Gift

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” — Albert Einstein

Imagine you’re having a birthday celebration at your house and you’ve invited all of your friends over. Everyone comes into the living room for the opening of the gifts. As you begin to open the gifts one by one, it becomes clear that everybody brought the same exact gift. What would you think to yourself? Your first thought might be, “How could this be?” Maybe it feels kind of awkward. No matter what you think, you know something isn’t right. So why do we expect life to be any different? We often spend a lot of time comparing ourselves to others. We wonder why we don’t have the same gifts others have, yet we miss the beautiful simplicity that we weren’t meant to bring the same gift to the party.

You bring a unique gift to the party, and that’s what makes the party fun! This month, try to spend your energy looking into the things that you are not only talented in, but that you love to do. There are several things in your life that you are just naturally good at. You may know exactly what those things are, or may have forgotten what those things were because of your busy everyday life. Or….you may not have taken the time to simply open your eyes to the gifts that were right in front of you.

Think about it. Have you ever been impressed by what someone did, and said to him, “Wow, you were really good”? Then instead of getting a simple thank you of acknowledgement, they gave you a surprised expression and said, “Really?” That person actually had no idea they had a gift until you told them. You have a gift — plain and simple! We all do. Maybe you know what it is, maybe you don’t, but that is your job this month – to find out what it is! Then pursue that gift and do something amazing with it.

Let me tell you something you may already know. Talent is only one aspect of being a “genius.” You can actually become great at something just by having a true passion for it. Why? — Because passion is the greatest motivator for learning and practice. When you were little, you didn’t know how to tie your shoes. You weren’t born with that talent, but now you “loop and swoop” all the time! My point is, in addition to finding and pursuing your natural talents, also pursue the things you just simply love to do.

In the past, I bet you put things you loved on the back burner because you felt they were not that important. But what if it was the other way around? What if the things that brought you joy were the foundation for true happiness in your life?

Take some time this month to meditate on your talents and passions, and begin a plan to eliminate any barriers to your accomplishing these things. Don’t let other people judge you based on their talents — and more importantly, don’t judge YOURSELF based on their talents.

Einstein enlightens us by easing our minds and letting us know that comparing ourselves to others is based on the faulty premise that we are all good at the same thing. Simply put, fish don’t climb trees, and truthfully, we wouldn’t want them to. It’s not who they are! Remember, it’s no fun going to a party where everyone brings the same gift. You will not find happiness by being a carbon copy of someone else. You need to follow your dreams to become all that you were meant to be!

Many blessings to you! xoxo