Develop Your Gift
Hopefully you’ve had a chance to start dedicating your gift toward a particular person or purpose. Feel free to refresh your memory on dedicating your gift from last week’s blog. Are you starting to notice more joy in your life during this process?
The next step in this journey is to Develop Your Gift. When I think about developing a gift, I’m reminded of watching my kids hit certain milestones. Similarly, we’ll reach three development milestones as we develop our gift:
Self-Awareness that Leads to Seeking Help
First, take notice of where you’re at in your life. Don’t be discouraged if you haven’t hit certain milestones yet. In fact, as you engage in self-awareness, you’ll have the chance to discover where you want to be so you can start setting goals and seek out help to get you there. Help can come in a variety of ways; podcasts, books, a coach, or joining a community with others going the same direction. I love turning to books to learn more as I focus on developing my gifts.
Learning to Embrace Stress in Our Life
Next, you’ll start realizing that developing your gift might take you outside your comfort zone. You’ll encounter challenges and stress in the process. However, when you embrace challenges, stress, and fear of stretching outside your comfort zone, you will grow and gain greater opportunities for joy in life.
Not long ago, I went from coaching a local community to now speaking to women all across the globe, definitely out of my comfort zone at the time. I’ve grown in ways I didn’t think were possible, developed my gifts in new ways, and encountered a renewed sense of purpose in my life.
Practicing Flexibility and Maturity Leads to Change
At this point, you’ll find yourself in a better capacity to change and develop your gift. I love referring to leadership expert John C. Maxwell’s saying, “Change is inevitable, but growth is optional.” No life is lived without turbulence or trouble.
When I think about surviving two cancers, losing a child, and watching people close to me make choices with difficult consequences, embracing stress and practicing flexibility doesn’t sound like an easy task. However, I’ve set out to develop my gift by practicing daily habits of proper sleep and rest, meditation, and exercising, and in the process, discovered I’m better prepared to lean into challenges and see stressful situations as opportunities to grow and develop my gift.
I hope as you start to turn inward and recognize opportunities to develop your gift, you will start finding more joy and happiness. Leave a comment about how you are developing your gifts. Stay tuned for the fourth and final step in your journey to happiness with next week’s blog!
ICYMI: Here are links to the previous posts in this series