Don't Waste Your Gift
I want to tell you something important. Life is hard and criticism is a dime-a-dozen. So why are you criticizing yourself and telling yourself you can’t do things?
Two months ago, I had a conversation with a friend. I talked with her about my writing. As we talked, my fear surfaced, rearing its monstrous head. I told her I wasn’t sure what I was doing with my life. I feel like I’m interested in so many things. She told me, “You write, don’t you? Don’t waste your gift.”
So I want to challenge and encourage you: don’t waste your gift.
Some write, some paint, some take care of children, some work with computers, some garden. The list is miles long.
There are things you love to do. Those passions that make your heart sing and dance. Do them and don’t hold back.
Your gifts are blessings to this world. Put it this way: if Albert Einstein or Vincent van Gogh were to never have been born, the world would be a different place. They were once just ordinary people like you and me until history made them famous.
Your lives are drops of inspiration that ripple outward, each ring touching someone’s life.
Don't waste your gift.
Don't waste your gift.
I agree to a point. Do what you love, yes, but there are things people love to do that they may not good at.
ReplyDeleteI had an old boyfriend who loved to sing but he was utterly completely tone deaf. There was no helping him. He could sing his heart out but never be a great or good or even listenable singer. He was passionate about it but he stunk.
Passion doesn't equal a gift. Passion is just that -- passion. A person can become better at a passion but true giftedness is kind of rare. No offense, but I think people too often say "Don't waste your gift" to make people feel better. If you ever watched Simon Cowell on "American Idol" you would see someone who never allowed caterwauling contestants to continue to be delusional about their alleged singing "gifts." He told them straight out that they stunk and spared them from going down a path they'd most likely fail on. People thought he was harsh and sometimes he was, but he was trying to do people a favor by sparing them from embarking on a road of surefire heartbreak. They were best left to pursue their passion in the shower.
Write if you love writing, absolutely, but it gets a bit tedious how many people are convinced they're "gifted" in this or that just because they love it and that they therefore have an obligation to gift the world with their GIFT. "If I'm passionate, I surely must have a GIFT and if I have a GIFT, the world must be made aware of it!"
Do something because you love it and you want to get better. It's as simple as that. Don't make it something more.
I didn't say that very well. Actually, I don't really agree at all, mainly because of the word "gift." It's a sappy overly used word that carries a lot of pressure with it. People tell us we're "gifted" and then we wonder why we struggle with our art or writing or sport or whatever if we're so gifted. It's far better to recast that "gift" as a "craft" or "endeavor" because it's more realistic. It's something you can progress in rather than feeling like something you were allegedly zapped with at birth. Some are zapped. They're prodigies. Mozart comes to mind. Others have to work at their craft or their passion. But characterizing it as a gift can become a huge burden because if we suffer from low self-esteem, we wonder why we're not living up to our GIFT. Everyone says we have a gift but why is it so hard?? It should be easy if it's a gift. It should flow if it's a gift. "I should be rich if it's a gift," etc.
ReplyDeleteYour well-meaning friend did you a disservice. She wanted to encourage you but that word is so HUGE, it's hard to live up to. It gets thrown around a lot in religious circles but I don't know the context of your conversation with your friend. Say you're pursuing a passion or honing a craft. Look at it that way and it's a lot less pressure to put on yourself and a lot less demoralizing too.